A New Light
by Midnight Secret
Summary: Yuffie is on the run from a man who wants to capture her. While trying to hide in a mansion, Yuffie runs into a dark man who hasn't seen the light of day for 32 years. What will happen with the two as they set out for Wutai? AU. Chp 7 FINALLY UP! R&R!
1. The Mansion

A New Light

**A/N: I do not own FF7. I decided what if you didn't unlock Yuffie and Vincent from the game, would they still meet each other? This is set 2 years after Meteor. I'm using Yuffie's look from Advent Children, even though the events don't happen in this story. Only reason why I'm using it is because she looks more mature. I'm not sure if I'm going to bring in Cloud and them in later chapters, but I might. I'm sorry for any OOCness. **

_Faster_

_**I'm running as fast as I can!!!**_

_Faster!_

_**Dang it, I am!**_

_Faster, or your life._

_**Don't you think I know that???**_

_Faster_

_**Dang it!!**_

_A town..._

_**I know... Wait a town!**_

_Go towards it._

_**Don't have to tell me twice!!!**_

Cobble stone clicked with feet. Long pale yellow boots hit the ground, their white shoelaces hitting the boots and occasionally hitting their owner's knee. The owner huffed as they ran through the town. The sun was beginning to set, so there were not many people out about the town. The ones out though, gave the person a strange look. The stranger was an eighteen year old female. Her bright eyes held terror in them. On her back was a weird looking weapon, one that many people of the town never had seen before. The girl looked over her shoulder, breathing heavily. No one was following her, at least anyone she could see. That didn't help.

She jumped over a fence and stopped. In front of her was a huge mansion. She wrinkled her brow. It looked deserted. She looked behind her. She didn't see anyone, but she felt someone... More than one someone following her. She bit her lip and looked back at the mansion. It looked a little scary...

_Dang it Yuffie... Don't chicken out now. _Yuffie took a huge breath and ran towards the Mansion. She grabbed the handles to the door and pulled it open. It was heavy and dust greeted her nose. She didn't have enough time to sneeze for she dashed into the mansion, pulling the doors closed. She had to find somewhere to hide. They couldn't find her. If they found her, she could be dead. Or worse, captured. She began to run. There were so many rooms. She had an eerie feeling about the mansion. She could hear the doors of the mansion open and she gasped. They were onto her. She began to run again but soon met the floor, her foot hitting a step she didn't see and made her fall onto the ground. She heard something behind her and saw a monster.

"I don't have time for you!" she said, throwing her weapon at the creature. The creature died with one hit and Yuffie was on her way again.

The mansion was cold and dreary. She hated this feeling. She looked around, breathing deeply. She had to find somewhere to go, just to lose them. The rooms she had seen had no secret passage or hiding places so that wouldn't help her in her situation at all. Yuffie ran up the staircase, trying not to fall through some of the rotten boards. She came to a halt at the top. There was a balcony in front of her and a decision to go right or left. Yuffie bit her lip. She didn't have TIME to think. She hopped on one foot to the other and finally went right. She ran, inspecting the rooms and trying to figure out what to do. Nothing. She finally came to a dead end. She hit her hand upon the wall and her ear twitched. She hit the wall again and notices that it gave a hollow sound, a sound that no wall should make. Her eyes lit up. A secret passage! She kept hitting the wall, quietly so that she wouldn't give her position away. Unfortunately, a door didn't appear and she was still stuck where she was.

"I don't have time for this." she hissed. She jumped up and gave the wall a nice hard kick. She heard something go _tink _and a door swung open. Yuffie did a victory dance in her head as she ran into the hidden room. She almost lost her balance once she noticed it was a long, spiral staircase that leads downwards. She held a creepy feeling inside her belly, but when she heard a cry of a monster, she knew that the people following her were close on her tail. She held her breath and began to run down the stairs.

Running down the stairs was not a good idea. Yuffie hated being up in high places and going from a high place to a low place, fast, decided to upset her stomach and her head. Once she felt solid stone underneath her feet, she almost collapsed to the floor. She shook it off though; she knew she couldn't slow down. She caught her breath and looked in front of her. A long corridor stretched on for what seemed like ages. From the looks of it, it seemed like it had been abandoned long ago. This intrigued her. Why had such a mansion been abandoned? It seemed like it would have been a lovely place to live.

She found herself walking down the corridor slowly instead of being rushed. Just being down there made her forget that she was being followed. Her hand touched and trailed across the stone walls as she walked. It smelled... haunted. She could tell there were secrets in the walls. The entire corridor held a secret that Yuffie wanted to figure out.

She wasn't snapped out of her serenity until she heard something hit hard on the stairs. She then remembered why she was in the mansion in the first place and grabbed at the first door that she had seen from her position in the corridor. The door was locked. She grumbled, and kicked it, and forced her way into the room. She shut the door and looked around. It was a strange room. For one thing, there was, to her surprise, a coffin in the middle of the room. This made her gasp. Why was there a coffin down in the basement of the mansion? She approached it carefully. She could hear footsteps. Maybe it was empty? No one would leave a dead body down there in a coffin. Besides, the room smelled moldy and old if anything, no rotten flesh smells at all. It would make a great hiding place. She grabbed the top of the coffin and yanked it off. She let out a scream and fell backwards. There was a body in that coffin! She scrambled to her feet and looked at the body again. The person had long, black hair and was dressed in black and red garments. The thing that struck her the most though, was the person's left arm. It was a claw, not a human arm.

"Oh... my god..."she whispered. The person intrigued her, but also scared her. Why was there a body down here?

Yuffie stood next to the coffin, a look of amazement in her eyes. He was so still, so peaceful, so... dark. Yuffie stood next to the coffin and lightly placed her hands upon the edge of the pine box. Her eyes looked at the man. She felt sorrow fill her body. He was down there, all alone. Who would bury a man in a mansion? Well, bury wasn't the right word. Abandon would be a better choice of words. This confused her though. Nothing in the room seemed to have been disturbed in such a long time and the mansion was dusty and held no footsteps. How could this be if the man in question still looked like they were alive? What drew Yuffie to this man, more than anything, was his peaceful looking face. It was pale and screamed for her to touch it. She slowly raised her hand but when she noticed that he moved, she jumped back, trying not to scream. The body had just moved!

"Well, well, well..." said a voice and Yuffie turned around. She gasped. There stood two men, dressed in black; a black mask covered the lower part of their faces. The two looked similar, both had brown hair but their eyes were different. One had green eyes and the other had blue.

"So glad you screamed, you led us right to you." said the blue eyed one. Yuffie could tell that he was smiling, his mask moved after he had finished talking. Yuffie's hand went to her Conformer.

"Well, you want a doggie treat for catching up with me? So sorry I don't care for the bitch's attitude, I'm more of a cat person myself" spat Yuffie, sending her Conformer at the blue eyed man. He jumped and she caught her Conformer. She sensed him behind her, and her leg went back and connected with his jaw. She twirled around and grabbed his arm. She twisted it behind his back and grabbed his head. She pushed it forward and hit it on the wall. The man went limp and fell to the ground. She kicked him and put her hands on her hips.

"Stupid as..." but before she could finish, she felt a hand upon her shoulder. She looked and noticed that the green eyed man had decided to jump in after the take down of his partner.

"Don't forget about me." he said.

"Don't worry, I didn't." Yuffie said, taking her hand and jabbing it towards his face. It connected with his nose and he let go of her. Before she could do anything else, she was paying the cold ground a visit. She didn't know what had happened but he had managed to put her on the ground. She felt him grip her arms tightly and she felt them start to go numb. She began to wiggle.

"Let me go!!" she cried. She began to panic. Had they finally captured her? Why did they want her? Her chest began to heave.

"Please, let me go!!!" she cried. She felt a tear go down her cheek as she felt her body being pulled back.

The next thing that Yuffie knew was that there was a loud shot and something warm was upon her back. She let out a scream and began to tremble. What was that loud noise and why was her shoulder so warm? The hands that were holding her loosen and soon were gone. She heard a _thump_. She turned around and noticed that the person who once held her was dead. She was confused.

"How did..." she said softly but then stopped in her thought. She slowly turned around and saw a pair of unnatural red eyes looking into her bright ones. She wanted to scream but she thought that it would be incredibly rude.

She did it anyway.

After her short scream she noticed that his eyes were not leaving hers. She felt herself pressing her back against the wall. She studied him as he studied her. He was wild looking. Wild might have been a light word, but she had never seen a man look like him. His hair was crazy. She figured that it might have been short once, but being in the coffin possibly made it grow longer than he wanted. The claw of his, it glittered in the dim light. She was curious on how he got it.

The man stared at Yuffie. He felt adrenaline rush through his body, something that had not happened in so long. He had awoke to cries of a female and noticed that his coffin had been opened. When he saw that she had been caught, he had no other choice. Females should not be fighting and should never be handled roughly. When she turned around to look at him he saw fear in her eyes. A look of fear he had seen before, long ago before he had been confined to his coffin. Her eyes stared at him, scared but also curious. She was young and this surprised him. He had noticed the man she had killed slumped on the floor. She was young and had killed a man. He didn't understand the situation, and didn't feel like understanding it.

Yuffie began to open her mouth to say something but he beat her to it.

"Go away." he said. Yuffie was astonished.

"Wah... what?" was all she could say. His voice was... deep but not scary. It was a little gentle, something that didn't go with his looks at all.

"You heard me... leave me in peace." Yuffie's fear was gone now and she put her hands upon her hips.

"Wait a second. I was about to tell you thank you for saving my life but you decide to cut me off and tell me to go away? That's pretty rude." she said. She scrunched up her nose, her eyes glaring at him.

"And it is rude to wake someone from their sleep with screams." said the man. Yuffie opened her mouth.

"They want to kill me!" she squeaked.

"How do you know this?" The man seemed to be getting agitated; his claw was beginning to twitch.

"I... don't. They are after me though!! I didn't take anything from them either! I have never seen them before in my life!" Yuffie pleaded.

"Just leave me. I must repent for my sins.." he said and sat back down into the coffin. Yuffie advanced upon him.

"You can't! You gotta help me! Help me get out of this mansion! There are more than two, I know it! I felt more follow me here into this town..." Yuffie was a bit scared. She was right, she knew there were more people but they had yet to come down after her. This scared her a bit. She didn't understand at all.

"Please, go." he said as he lay down.

"Dang it! You can't do this to me!!!" she cried, stomping her foot. She stopped and sniffed the air. The man glanced up at the girl.

"Do you smell that?" she asked, turning and heading towards the doorway. The man sniffed the air and his eye brows twitched. He swiftly made his way to Yuffie's side. His legs were a bit wobbly because of being inactive for so long.

Yuffie stood in the corridor, her nose sniffing the air.

"This is a familiar smell..." she said softly. Something in her stomach made her feel wheezy. This didn't seem good.

"Smoke..." said the man. Yuffie turned around.

"What do you mean smoke? As in, smoke from a fire? I didn't smell it earlier... Does that mean..."

"Someone set the mansion on fire." his response held nothing within its words, it was just that. Words. Yuffie began to get worried.

"But... that means... this mansion will burn down! You have to help me get out of here!" she cried.

"Just leave before you get hurt." he said. Something was in his eyes and she was curious about it.

"How do I get out?" she asked.

"The staircase, the same one you came down." he said. Yuffie was a bit concerned about that answer but turn and ran towards the stairs anyway. The man stood and watched as she ran to the base of the staircase.

Yuffie began to ascend the stairs when she looked up and let out a cry. The staircase was on fire. She couldn't get through that, and she had no water or ice materia on her and she cursed under her breath. She couldn't go that way. She ran back towards the man, who had disappeared. She ran back into the room, just as he was grabbing the top to his coffin.

"Help!" she squeaked. He looked back at her.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"The stairwell! It's all on fire and its coming fast. Please, help me!" she cried. The man looked to the side.

"I am destined to die here in this Mansion... let me be..." he said quietly. Yuffie's heart began to beat fast. She ran to the coffin and knelt before it. Her hands gripped the coffin and she looked up at the man.

"Please." she said quietly. A flicker of light caught Yuffie off guard and she turned around. The fire had reached the room and was starting to catch everything on fire. Smoke began to fill the room, making the ninja cough. Yuffie closed her eyes and covered her mouth but she couldn't help but cough. The man looked at Yuffie. Her face was beginning to go pale and her coughs began to get louder. The man closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn't let this girl die here, he just couldn't. That would be one more sin he would have to live with and he couldn't handle the thought. He jumped out of his coffin and grabbed Yuffie's arm with his human hand.

"Follow me," was all he said. Yuffie was about to open her mouth but she coughed instead. She decided to do something she rarely did: shut up and follow.

Yuffie stumbled over her feet as the man pulled her from the room and down the hallway as quick as he could, the fire slowly following them. He ran into the library and began to look around. He knew there was a passage here somewhere. He went to the far corner and let his claw linger upon the books. Finally he found the one, and pulled it out. The case of books began to move and suddenly there was a path in front of them. Yuffie was going to cheer but felt herself jerked into the cold escape path. She could tell that it hadn't been used in a long time. The walls were filled with spider webs and the air smelled dry, not fresh at all. She crawled as fast as she could behind the man, the tunnel getting smaller and smaller. She was getting cramped by the tunnel but could imagine how the man in front of her felt, he was bigger than her. Finally she saw a little glimmer of light as the man pushed hard at the end of the tunnel and whatever was blocking the exit opened. The man crawled out and helped her. She fell to the ground and began to cough. She took in deep breaths of the fresh air and looked up at the man.

"Thank you." she said, her voice a lot raspier than she would have liked. The red eyes of the man looked at her then back up at the mansion. Sorrow seemed to fill his eyes but it was soon gone. Yuffie bit her lip and stood up. She turned around and looked at the burning mansion. His home was destroyed.

Yuffie glanced at the man then back at the mansion. It was her fault that it had been destroyed. She felt sorry for that, sorry for ruining what seemed like his final resting place. How long had he been down there? Did he not need food or water like everyone? She began to play with her hands. How would she make it up to him? She began to think and then something hit her. She slowly approached the man and looked up at him.

"You should come with me." she said. She smiled at her suggestion. How could the man refuse her offer? He was now homeless and from the looks of it, seemed to not know what day or even what year it was. It seemed like such a weird suggestion, especially since they had known each other for less than an hour, but it just felt right to Yuffie. She was so curious about him. Why had he been in that coffin when she found him? She wanted to know more about the man and she also wanted someone to go with her. He looked at her and her mind froze.

"No. I'm going back. It's my destiny to live forever in there, and if it is to burn then I shall burn with it." said the man and he began to walk to the entrance. Yuffie grabbed his arm and shuddered a bit when it brushed some of his claw.

"No. Come with me! You can help me back to my home and I'll tell them that you helped me all the way back and my dad will be so happy he'll give you money! Then you can go find yourself a nice house!" cooed Yuffie. The man just glared at her.

"Why would I do that?" he asked. A pout spread across Yuffie's lips.

"Hey! Do you know who you are talking to buddy?!" scolded Yuffie, her chest beginning to puff up. She hated to be treated like a kid. She wasn't a kid anymore! She was an adult!

"A little girl?" he said emotionless. Yuffie's mouth opened. Before she could yell at him, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed her Conformer and gave it a mighty throw in the direction of the movement. She heard a thud and felt the Conformer come in contact with her hand. She looked back at the man in front of her.

"You need to come with me!" she said. The man looked away from her.

"It is my destiny to die alone." he said. With that he turned around and began to walk from Yuffie. The ninja scrunched up her nose and grabbed the man's arm once again, her grip tighter than before.

"Destiny? Screw destiny. You make your own destiny. If someone told you that you were suppose to die in a mansion, you tell them that you make your own decisions. Your own decisions make your destiny, not someone else." said Yuffie. The man looked back at her but before he could say anything something pierced his shoulder, making his body jerk and pain to go through his body. The man lost his balance a little but he pulled his arm away from Yuffie and his eyes darted to a spot upon a house. Yuffie looked where the shot came from and her mouth opened.

"Crap." she said.

There upon the roof stood a man. Yuffie knew this man quite well. How could you forget someone with red hair and glass green eyes? Yuffie knew that she couldn't. It was the man, the same man that had been following her the entire time. Yuffie's heart began to race. They had to lose him; they had to throw him off of them. Yuffie looked at her new companion and noticed that he had taken out his own gun. She watched as he fired at the red headed man but miss. The dark haired man growled to himself as he shot again and again, always missing the other by seconds.

_This man is agile. That or I am out of practice..._ He felt a hand upon his shoulder and he looked back.

"We have to run," said Yuffie. "This guy has been chasing me from the start. I can lose him for a day but he always finds me again." said Yuffie. She heard a shot and pushed away from her companion. She looked back at the house but did not see the red head man anywhere. This was starting to bug her. She looked at the dark haired man. "Please." was all she said before she jumped from a bullet. She saw that his crimson eyes seemed to agree and off the two of them went.

Nibelheim was a nice size town, but if you didn't know where you were going you could get confused. Yuffie was happy to be following the mysterious man she had found in the basement of the mansion. People were looking out their windows at the burning thing, people already trying to help put out the flames. This made Yuffie happy, giving them some shelter from the man following her.

The man looked around, his crimson eyes finding an alley and running towards it. Yuffie tried to keep up, but was starting to get tired. She could feel herself starting to break down a bit. She had been running for so long she was surprised that she had yet to collapse and stay down. Yuffie was pulled from her thoughts when she felt something cold encircle her bare midsection and felt herself leaving the ground. The man had wrapped his left arm around her and jumped up to catch a second floor windowsill. He hoisted them up into the dark room. There was nobody there, which he expected for they were all out trying to put out the large fire. He pulled Yuffie into the shadows, slinking his cape around them, holding Yuffie close to him.

Yuffie's heart began to race. Why were they hiding? They should keep going. This was something she never would have done, and that might be the reason she was always running. She felt the man's grip on her get tighter when the red head man entered the room from the window. His green eyes looked about the room. There was no emotion upon his face as he looked around. Yuffie was scared that they would be seen but was surprised when the red headed man exited the room. The dark man didn't budge, and neither did Yuffie.

What seemed like hours, the man finally let go of Yuffie. Yuffie sank to the ground, her adrenalin gone and her legs sore. Her heart felt like it wanted to pop out of her chest as she fell onto her back on the ground. The man watched as the young ninja caught her breath. He winched when he felt his arm begin to throb and noticed where he had been shot. Yuffie felt his stiffness and looked up at him. He touched his right shoulder and flinched just a bit. Yuffie scrambled to her feet and was at his shoulder. He watched as she touched it gently, shooing away his claw.

"I can fix it." she said.

"Don't bother," said the man. Yuffie glared up at him and he glared back.

"I'm going to heal your shoulder and you will say thank you." she said as she pulled out her cure materia. The spot glowed green for a few seconds and was as good as new. She stepped back and smiled at him. He touched his shoulder gently and then looked back at the young girl.

"Thank you." he said.

"No problem!" chirped Yuffie. "By the way, what is your name?" asked Yuffie. The man looked at her and debated on whether or not he should tell her his name.

"Vincent... Vincent Valentine." Yuffie smiled.

"Hi Vincent! I'm Yuffie Kisaragi." Yuffie stuck out her hand. Vincent shook it gently, thinking about her last name. _Kisaragi..._

"You should come with me! I would say its lonely out by yourself, but I've been doing this for four years and it's not that bad!" explained Yuffie, putting her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth. Vincent looked at her. _Four years..._ Vincent's eyes glanced around the room and fell upon a calendar. Reading the date he did the math in his head and glanced at the ground. He had been in that coffin for a long time. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed that Yuffie was still talking. "... those guys really do suck; they have been chasing me the past week!"

"I'm not going with you." Yuffie looked at Vincent.

"Oh, come on Vincent! If you come back with me to Wutai, my father will give you enough gil so you can go out and find yourself a nice place! Maybe as nice as that mansion!" cooed Yuffie. Vincent looked at her. _Wutai..._

"No." he said. Yuffie made a face.

"Don't tell me you think you should stick around here. Look Vince, I don't think Nibelheim will take too kindly to a vampire walking around."

"I'm not a vampire..." growled Vincent. "I'm a monster; no one would take kindly to me." Yuffie made a noise which seemed like a laugh and Vincent turned to her. "What is so funny?"

"You, a monster? Well, if you are then you sure aren't on the outside. A vampire, yes, monster, no. Just, come on. At least go with me so you can get some money to help you get back on your feet. See the world! It's a beautiful place; I've been all over it in the last four years. It's exciting. Also, maybe your destiny is going to be more exciting than what you thought. Come on, what do you say?" Yuffie looked at Vincent. Vincent just looked at her. He gave a small sigh.

"I guess I could." he said. What Yuffie didn't know was that he didn't agree to go with her because of the money, he could care less. What he wanted to know was how she fit in at Wutai. He hadn't been to Wutai since... well... a very long time and hearing the name again made him want to go back. He had almost drowned out the cheers of Yuffie until he felt his hand being pulled.

"Okay Vinnie! Before we head to Wutai we have to go back to the inn where all my stuff is at. I didn't have time to grab it before I had been run out of the town by that red headed man." explained Yuffie. Vincent pulled his hand from Yuffie's and shuttered a bit on the inside at the name that Yuffie had called him.

"Where is your stuff?" he asked, as he grabbed Yuffie and jumped out the window.

"Costa Del Sol."


	2. The Forest

**Chapter 2**

The entire room was white and silver. White walls, silver cages, white tables, silver instruments and white coats. There were many cages full of animals. Some held rats, rabbits, and small animals. If you were to venture farther into the complex you would find horrible creatures. Half horse half tigers, creatures howling with pain, creatures being mutated and operated on. Their cries would never be heard though; they were trapped in sound proof rooms and were never worked on until late at night. The normal employees of this lab did not know about these animals except for the special shift. Most of the employees were clueless that the experiments they were doing were not for the good of the people, which they all thought they were doing. They thought that ShinRa themselves were giving them the orders to create these concoctions but they weren't. They were being made by none other than the head of the entire company, Adrian McCoy.

Adrian stood in front of a cage, a syringe in his hand. He moved some of his blonde hair from his face and looked at the creature in the cage. It gave a squeak, the big black eyes of the mouse looked up at Adrian. Adrian gave a small smile as he looked at the mouse.

"This is your tenth treatment... Let's see if you keep on living." Adrian grabbed the mouse quickly. It began to squirm in his hands. In its brain it was saying this wasn't right, it shouldn't be captured, it needed to run. Adrian turned the mouse upside down and injected the needle into its underbelly. The mouse calmed down and Adrian set it back into his cage. The mouse walked for a few steps but then fell over. The big eyes were now closed and it seemed to have stopped breathing. Adrian made a frown and threw down the needle.

"Damnit!" he cursed, slamming his fits onto the table. The table shook the cage and out of nowhere the mouse suddenly sprung to life and began to run around the cage. Adrian's eyes were big and a smile spread across his face. The mouse was running with such vigor, such speed that a regular mouse would never have. Adrian wiped the back of his hand against his forehead and took off his gloves.

"Well now, it seems like you are still living my pet." he said, the smile never leaving his lips. He reached into the cage and tried to pet the mouse. Unfortunately the mouse was too fast and was just dashing around its cage.

Adrian set his gloves inside his coat pocket and fished out his cell phone. He needed to see how his subject in question was coming. He dialed a number and waited for the person to pick up. After a few seconds a voice greeted the man.

"Hello?"

"Egeon, have you captured her yet?"

The red headed man sat upon the roof of a Nibelheim house, the phone up to his ear. Egeon sighed.

"No sir, she got away again." Adrian was severely upset.

"Why have you not caught her yet, she should be easy for you!" spat Adrian, his mako eyes showing his anger. Egeon could not see his eyes, but he knew the look that was probably on Adrian's face.

"She is very skilled with her weapon. Her ninja skills are okay and her common sense is severely lacking." said Egeon, watching the people of the town trying to dowse the fire of the mansion.

"Yes, I know, that is why I want her." said Adrian, sitting in a chair in the semi dark room. He began to rub his forehead. They had been chasing the ninja for a week, a task that was taking far too long. They should have had her at Costa Del Sol but she had spotted them quicker than he had thought.

"Then why are you angry that I have not caught her yet?" questioned Egeon, breaking Adrian from his thoughts.

"Are you trying to back talk to me Egeon?" questioned Adrian. Egeon bit the inside of his cheek and sighed.

"No sir... But..."

"But what?"

"We have a problem." Adrian straightened up in his chair. He didn't like the tone in Egeon's voice.

"What sort of... problem?" Adrian was beginning to play with the hem of his lab coat.

"Yuffie now has a... companion traveling with her." explained Egeon. Adrian rested his hand upon his knee, his elbow on the arm of the chair.

"Companion? Where did she acquire this companion?" Adrian was a bit nervous about the answer he was going to receive. Who could know the young ninja? Yes, she had been on the move since she was sixteen years old but during Meteor, all they cared about was Avalanche and what they were doing, not some ninja that walked the lands.

"Well sir, she went into the ShinRa mansion and then exited the mansion from a secret passage and with a rather strange looking man. He was dressed in black and red." explained Egeon, standing upon the roof. He strained his eyes but he could see the little bit of red from the cape that the man had worn. They were running off into the night, hoping not to be seen. Egeon had seen them though and smiled a bit. Of course. Going back to where her stuff was. Now that she had a body guard, she probably felt safe. Egeon made a mental note of it as he waited to hear Adrian's reply. Adrian had been stunned when Egeon described the person who exited with Yuffie from the mansion.

"Are you keeping an eye out for them?" asked Adrian. Egeon kicked a pebble from the roof.

"I know where they are going. I'm going to let them get a head start, making them feel like they have an edge on me. They are returning to Costa Del Sol. If you want to send some people to help, that would be much appreciated. The little squirt killed three of my men today. I would like some more, skilled people." explained Egeon.

"Why should I send you more men when all that happens to them is they become dead?" asked Adrian.

"You don't want your best warrior killed do you?" asked Egeon.

"How about Sierra?" asked Adrian, half joking. Sierra was the second best fighter he had but the best scientist on his staff. He couldn't afford to lose her. Egeon became stiff at the name.

"No." he said quickly. Adrian raised an eyebrow.

"Why not Egeon?" Egeon looked down at the roof, the phone in his hand.

"I don't want a female on my team." If only that was the simple answer. Adrian smiled. He was happy that Egeon had said no to Sierra but it was very unlike him to say no so quickly. Egeon and Sierra had worked perfectly last time he had paired them up, but it wasn't a mission he was scared that they would get killed. This one though, it should have been simpler, Yuffie should be there now and ready for the treatment.

"I will send you some men to Costa Del Sol for you. I will speak with you later Egeon." with that, Adrian hung up the phone. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and sighed. This was getting more challenging.

"Valentine..." Why must the stupid girl find Valentine? The situation was getting trickier and trickier. If they didn't capture the ninja soon, he might have to dispatch Sierra to help Egeon. He ran a hand through his hair and opened the door. The light spilled into the room and he stepped out.

He shut the door behind him and took a step and almost met the ground. A brunette walked quickly down the hallway and hit Adrian. Her papers crashed to the ground and she bent down to pick them up.

"I'm sorry, so sorry," she murmured. Adrian knelt down and began to help the poor girl pick up her papers. The lady adjusted her glasses and her hazel eyes met mako eyes and she gasped. "Adrian!" she said. Adrian smiled as he handed her the papers he had in his hands.

"Good evening Sierra. In a rush to leave?" he questioned. Sierra smiled bashfully and stood up.

"No, just a deadline on these papers. I have fifteen minutes before I'm off and should get these to the filing room." she explained, brushing some loose hairs from her face and tossed her braided hair over her shoulder. Adrian gave a small smile but then his face became emotionless.

"What do you know about Professor Hojo?" he asked. Sierra's eyebrows scrunched together and she popped her hip as she thought.

"He was a brilliant scientist, a little bit on the crazy side, but brilliant none the less. He was married to Lucrecia Crescent who became an experiment and gave birth to the mighty Sephiroth that threatened the world two years ago." explained Sierra, trying to grasp if everything she remembered from books and the past few years were right. Adrian nodded.

"Correct." he said. He glanced at Sierra and smiled.

"But do you remember that major human experiment he did thirty two years ago?" he questioned. Sierra touched her lips with a finger, trying to remember.

"Yes. The man that has those demons inside of him. He's dead though." said Sierra, looking at Adrian.

"Wrong," spoke Adrian as he began to walk. Sierra looked at him questionably and had to run to catch up with him.

"What do you mean sir?" she questioned, trying to match his stride. His six foot, five inches towered over her five foot six and his legs were longer than hers even though she had long legs for a female. Adrian turned the corner and took out a key. He was quiet as he did so. Soon a faint _click_ sound was heard and he opened the door. He motioned for Sierra to walk into the room and she did. He followed and closed the door. He flipped on a light. The room lit up and Sierra rubbed her eyes. In the room were file cabinets that were dusty and old looking.

"We need to find as much information on that experiment as we can." explained Adrian, walking over to a cabinet and yanked it open.

"Sir, how did you get all these files?" Sierra asked, setting her now forgotten papers on the table as she walked over to Adrian.

"Hojo is a brilliant man, yes, but he did need help on certain, experiments." explained Adrian. Sierra's eyes went wide a little. She was now confused.

"Sir, are you saying you... helped with the Valentine project?" she asked quietly, watching over Adrian's shoulder.

"You could say I had a little bit of help..." he explained. Her mouth hung open a bit.

"But sir, that was thirty two years ago... You yourself told me you were thirty two. You possibly..." but then her thoughts trailed off. Adrian smiled and glanced at Sierra.

"Yes, I am thirty two. Physically I am thirty two but I am actually sixty five if you count my birthdays." Sierra bit her bottom lip.

"Sir, how..." but she hushed herself. "After the Valentine experiment you had Hojo make it so you didn't age didn't you?" she asked. Adrian put a file back into the cabinet and closed it.

"Not... exactly." he said. Her eyes went wide.

"You did it without his knowledge? Didn't he suspect anything thought? You worked next to him for years..." explained Sierra. Adrian let out a laugh.

"Yes, I know. He figured it out the old bastard. He laughed to himself about it later after he almost killed Me." explained Adrian, leaning against the cabinet. Sierra placed a hand upon his shoulder.

"Is that how you got that scar?" she asked softly. Adrian's hand went to the scar that ended on his neck. It went from his chest to the top of his neck. He gave a small sigh.

"Yes. After it happened he began to laugh and called me a bastard and said he was proud of what I did. He certainly was an unbalanced man..." explained Adrian. Sierra put her hand by her side and watched as Adrian pulled out a file and opened it. She peaked around his arm and looked at the picture of a handsome man. His hair was short and black. The suit he wore was of a Turk. Next to the picture was the name, Vincent Valentine.

"Why are you so interested in this man?" she asked.

"He is helping the Kisaragi girl." explained Adrian, throwing the file onto the dusty table. Sierra looked at him.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "He's helping her? How did she fine him?" she asked. Adrian shut the cabinet and turned his attention to Sierra.

"He was in the mansion in Nibelheim when Egeon followed the girl. She ran into the building alone and left with him. Now she has him as a guardian I guess. This does throw a hamper into our plans. I need to understand him and his past life to know how big of a threat he is to Egeon and if I need to send you." explained Adrian, grabbing the file.

"I could go with him now..." said Sierra softly, her eyes glancing into Adrian's eyes.

"No, I suggested that but Egeon said no in a heartbeat." Sierra bit her lip.

"Oh," she said softly. Adrian placed a hand upon Sierra's shoulder.

"Don't let that decision hamper your spirit. He just doesn't want to put a good agent in danger for this mission. He would rather lose one good man than two good men, don't you think?" Adrian smiled when Sierra gave a small smile. "Besides, I need my best scientist and thinker by my side to be able to guide Egeon in the right direction." explained Adrian. Sierra smiled.

"Thank you sir." she said. Adrian patted her shoulder and turned from her.

"I want you to find as much information on the man you can from the files here. There should be a lot of documentation here that I took from Hojo over the years. The dirty bastard always threw away his research once something was finished. He should have shredded it. Look whose hands it has landed in." said Adrian and with that he left the room.

Sierra stood there in the room, the door closing in front of her. Was Vincent Valentine actually alive? How could that be? That didn't make any sense to her. He was supposed to be dead, wasn't he? She remembered reading that he died but maybe they just did that to conceal what had actually happened...

Sierra sat down and her mind turned to something else.

"Egeon..." she said softly. She was confused. Why did he not want her to be around? He knew that she could take a fight; she was a very skilled fighter. Adrian said it was because she was female... Bullshit, there had to be a better explanation than that. Sierra punched her fist onto the table and stood up.

"That asshole! I can take anything that he would throw at me!" she shouted. She crossed her arms and kicked the chair. Yeah, she could take anything that was thrown at her. Her shoulders sank and her arms fell to her side. Who was she kidding? She was a good fighter, but she still made silly mistakes. She sighed and leaned against the chair. So much for her working on reports for the week. Her eyes glanced over at the file cabinets. She didn't feel like running in a circle the next week, she rather work on her research and use her brain. She grabbed the papers that she had set upon the table earlier and made her way to the door. She'd have to remember where the room was, she'd be here early the next morning.

--

Egeon jumped from the roof into the alleyway. He brushed his pants off and made his way to the square. No use on tracking them tonight, he knew their path and he was getting tired. Staying in Nibelheim sounded like a plan. He stretched his arms and stopped once he excited the alley. The whole town was out, looking at the burning mansion. Many kids were crying, hugging onto their mothers, coughing from the smoke. Mothers hugged their children, covering their faces and shooing them into their home. The men were carrying water from the well to the mansion, trying to put out the ever lasting flames. A couple people brought out ice materia but it was so weak that it barely did any damage. Egeon grinned a bit. Their poor little mansion was now burning down and all that most of them could do was watch. If only they knew who had been down in the basement for the last 32 years, they would be happy it was burning. Egeon's face became hard. If only he had died in that fire and left Yuffie all by herself. Adding Vincent Valentine into the equation really put a dent into his plan. Now he had to deal with the ninja girl and the gun boy. Egeon sighed as he made his way to the inn.

The inn was quiet and it was very homely. He made his way to the counter and an older man greeted him.

"Hello. What would you like young man?" asked the elder. Egeon gave a small smile.

"Just one room please one bed." The older man nodded and went to grab a key.

"It's so sad about that mansion. It's been here for so long, it was there when I moved here. Such a beautiful mansion." said the elder man, giving the key to Egeon. "100 gil please." he said. Egeon dropped the gil upon the counter and made his way to his room.

He opened the door and stepped in. He kicked off his shoes and sat upon the bed. It was now completely dark outside and he could hear people making their way back to their homes. He walked to the window and looked out it. The fire was now barely there and the entire town was covered in smoke. Egeon gave a smile. This would just be the beginning. If their planned worked out, there will be many fires and chaos. The world would then go to darkness. Egeon pushed away from the window and turned off the light. He threw back his sheets and crawled into bed. He would wake early in the morning and begin his journey to Costa Del Sol where his men would be waiting for him. Yuffie and Vincent didn't have far to go. Their journey would end in Costa Del Sol.

--

The soft red light from Nibelheim was now far behind Yuffie and Vincent. Yuffie looked over her shoulder to see the little glimmering light from the town. They had not stopped running since they left and it was finally taking a toll on Yuffie's body. She had been up the last 24 hours and she was exhausted. She turned her attention to in front of her and could barely spot Vincent. They only thing that gave him away was his red cloak blowing in the wind. Her eyes began to shake and she felt her boot hit a rock. Before she knew it, she was face down in the ground. She closed her eyes. Her body began to relax and she finally felt the fatigue catching up to her. She felt blackness starting to engulf her. Sleep, wonderful sleep.

Vincent felt that his companion had suddenly stopped running. He slowed down and turned around. He saw that she was face first on the ground, her whole body relaxed. He slowly walked back towards her and knelt down. She was breathing, that was a relief but she wasn't really moving besides that. Vincent knew she must have passed out, but he couldn't let her fall asleep there, it wasn't safe. Before he woke her, he just sat crouched there, looking at her. She was an interesting person. She was so full of energy but once she hit the ground, she was drained. His eyes inspected her body, and came to a conclusion that she was between seventeen and twenty. She wasn't fully done developing but was a nice size for whatever age she was. He was surprised at her garments. Black shorts, black and white tank with a black over shirt and yellow boots coming up to her knees. A headband was wrapped around her head and the end was longer than her hair and stopped between her shoulder blades. It was an interesting outfit for someone who had been traveling for four years. He would think that she would wear warmer clothes, the nights getting cold no matter the season. Then again, the world might have changed since he had lived in it.

His eyes shifted from the girl and stared at a flower. Thirty two years was a long time. Thirty two years since that fateful day that left him heartbroken and what drove him to lock himself in a coffin. His love had abandoned him and became pregnant. She became an experiment and this had enraged him. Only then did he really find out what a crazy scientist had put inside of him. A monster, raging and wanting to be let out. Vincent felt his hand beginning to curl into a fist and he hit the ground. That damn scientist had ruined his life and left him to think about everything he did wrong and everything he had lost.

Vincent was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a soft whimper. He looked at Yuffie and she was beginning to shiver. His anger left his body and he reached out to shake her. He didn't want to move her while she was asleep, he didn't want to scare her if she was to wake up. He felt the most logical was to wake her and make her follow him to the trees that were less than fifty yards away. His hand touched her shoulder and he began to shake her. Yuffie swatted at him.

"Five more minutes..." she muttered softly. Vincent kept shaking her and finally her eyes snapped open. Working on instinct she grabbed the man's hand and tried to twist it behind his back. Unfortunately, because of her position, she wasn't able to follow through with her action and found herself staring into crimson eyes.

"Vinnie!" she exclaimed, letting go of his wrist. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What am I doing on the ground?" she asked. She couldn't remember how she got there. She remembered that she had been running and then she was waking up with a hand shaking her. Vincent stood up, Yuffie following suit.

"You fell and decided to fall asleep." explained Vincent. Yuffie wiggled her nose.

"Gee, and you decided to wake me up? Why the hell did you do that?" she asked, crossing her arms. Vincent glanced at her.

"I didn't want to move you; I found it best to wake you."

"You should have just moved me, I would have been happier." Yuffie responded, giving a pouty face.

"Did you see what you tried to do while you were asleep?" he asked, turning towards her. Yuffie opened her mouth but then shut it.

"Good point." she said, yawning. "But I'm so tired... I haven't slept in over twenty four hours..." she muttered. She noticed that Vincent had started to walk and she had to jog to catch up to him. "Where are we going Vinnie? I want to sleep if at all possible." explained Yuffie, jogging a bit to keep up with Vincent's stride.

"Do you think it wise to sleep with that man on our heels?" asked Vincent. Yuffie kicked a rock and sighed.

"He needs to sleep sometime too. Its funny, I always lose him around dusk and he's on my heels the next morning. Its annoying." explained Yuffie, putting her hands behind her back.

"You are lucky he hasn't tried to attack at night." explained Vincent. Yuffie slapped Vincent's arm and heard a small _tink_. She had hit his claw.

"Hey now! Don't forget I'm a ninja! I have super good hearing; I would have been safe if he would try to attack in the middle of the night." Yuffie put her hands upon her hips and continued to walk close to Vincent. Vincent didn't respond his eyes were focused upon the trees in front of him. He didn't want to say something that would get him slapped again, especially when he did not deserve it.

They finally reached the trees and Vincent stopped. Yuffie ran into the back of him and stumbled back.

"Geeze, tell me when you are going to stop like that." said Yuffie, rubbing her arm.

"We will camp here tonight." said Vincent. Yuffie's eyes lit up.

"Seriously? We get to sleep?" she asked. Vincent glanced at her.

"You can sleep." he said. Yuffie tilted her head.

"What, do you not sleep? Or is it because you've been asleep for a thousand years that you don't need to sleep anymore?" she asked, joking playfully with the thousand years comment. Too bad Vincent didn't find it funny at all.

"I haven't been asleep for a thousand years." he said, his voice seeming harsh.

"I was joking! Can't you take a joke?" spat Yuffie, sitting down upon the ground.

"No." he said. Yuffie encircled her arms around her and shivered.

"Gods, you need to lighten up." she said. She lay on the ground, pulling her legs up to herself. It was getting colder, and she wasn't really dressed for camping out. The next thing she knew, there was a warm mass of red fabric engulfing her. She pulled the cloak off of her and looked at Vincent.

"What are you doing?" she asked, the cloak being clutched in her hands.

"Use it, you need it." was all he said. Without his cloak, he basically was the darkness itself. Yuffie took a while trying to locate him but finally saw his eyes. They were looking at her, and somehow they calmed her down. A smile formed on her lips and she brought the cloak close to her.

"Thanks." she said softly. She lay back down and wrapped the enormous cloak around her. It was warm and it had a nice scent to it. She rubbed her nose in it and inhaled deeply. With the cloak around her, she quickly found sleep.

Vincent watched as Yuffie wrapped and disappeared inside his cloak. He watched as she nuzzled it and was out like a light. Deep inside, seeing her so happy to have his cloak made him feel a bit happy. That feeling seemed to be out of place, especially after so many years of not feeling anything other than hatred. He leaned against a tree and looked out into the night. He had a feeling that nothing would harm them that night, but he wanted to make sure. He pushed sleep off for as long as he could, but it soon caught up with him and he found himself engulfed in a dream, a dream that never went away. The same dream he had been dreaming the last thirty two years but this time, this time it was worse.

-0-

**A/N: Sorry it took so long. I have had this chapter written, just I wanted to wait until I wrote more in case I had to change anything. I've been writing little spots herre and there so they don't escape from my mind. Also, I haven't played DoC, I did some research so if there is anything painfully wrong, please tell me. I tweaked it a bit with Adrian and with Hojo so... Eh.. Hope it's as good as the first chapter. I'm stuck right now on the 3rd.. ;;**


	3. Beginning to a long journey

**Chapter 3**

The sun rose slowly over the hills, its light kissing the earth as it appeared. Sunlight shifted through the trees, casting a small pool of light upon a big red lump. The red lump stirred and a head poked out of the mass. Yuffie yawned, her eyes fluttering open. She wiggled under the cloak and she sighed softly. She was hoping that the whole thing would have been a dream and that she would be waking up in Costa Del Sol, about to go sun bathing on the beach. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. She was on the run for her life from a man with red hair and had found a vampire to be her company. She pulled the cloak over her head and she stared at the red fabric. She wasn't ready to be on the run again, she was ready to just go home... She could just go home, if she didn't have materia back in her room that she wanted to save. There were several that were maxed out and they were ready to sell... She hated to sell them, but that was how she gained her money other than fighting. She didn't sell materia that was rare or anything, just the ones that were common like All and Cure and Lightnings.

Her hand slowly ran over the fabric of the cloak that engulfed her and her mind began to drift; Vincent Valentine was a mysterious man. He didn't tell her much about himself, all that she knew was that he was suppose to repent for his sins, whatever that meant. She didn't understand why such a man would be living in a coffin. What puzzled her more was that he was so young looking but the room clearly hadn't been touched for years. She had been to Nibelheim before and she always heard of talk about the abandoned mansion, so how had he come to live there? Yuffie scrunched up her nose. They had a semi long journey in front of them; she would be able to question him on the way there.

Yuffie pulled the cloak off of her and she sat up her eyes darted around the forest, looking for her partner. She raised an eyebrow when she wasn't able to find him. The wind blew gently and there was a bit of a chill in the air. She stood up and wrapped the cloak around her small body; she seemed like a child with the cloak around her. Yuffie stood as tall as she could and began to walk through the forest, her eyes looking for the mysterious man named Vincent Valentine.

Vincent sat by the running stream, his eyes focused upon the crystal clear water. Thirty two years he had slept... Thirty two years had passed since he had seen Lucrecia, when he had turned into his most hated form. His clawed hand gripped the grass next to him, his human hand running through his long black hair. Lucrecia... He missed her and wondered if she had ever thought of him after he had locked himself in the basement of that mansion. Looking into the water he could have sworn he could see her face looking back at him, those beautiful eyes looking into his soul. An acorn fell from a nearby tree and sent ripples through the water, and the figure was gone.

Vincent looked up at the tree tops and closed his eyes. He had nightmares again that night... He would have figured he would have been tired of seeing the same scenes over and over again, but they never went away. They were always there, haunting him, Hojo's laugh, Lucrecia's rejection, being shot. Yet, something new crept into his dreams that night. The small ninja's face appeared to him that night, her eyes scared and helpless. He had watched as she burned her body lifeless upon the floor of the mansion. This was the first time he had ever dreamed of something that had not happened. He knew if he would have only thought about himself, that is how she would have turned out to be, burnt and laying upon the mansion floor as he was burned too. He didn't like the nightmare, but it had been there so he had a feeling that he would be seeing more of the poor girl's face in the future, and that disturbed him.

A soft crunch brought Vincent from his thoughts. His eyes snapped open and his hand quickly went to his gun that sat right next to him. Another crunch and a rustle of something made him leap to his feet and point his gun towards the sound. Without effort he pulled the trigger and a bullet went zooming through the trees. He heard a scream and a soft thud and then a curse. Vincent put his gun away and made his way to where he had heard the thud and soon came upon a big red blob. The blob was thrashing around and a person finally appeared to him. His eyes softened slightly and an unknown emotion seemed to run through his body... He had shot at Yuffie.

Yuffie was holding her left arm, blood trickling down it. She removed her hand and noticed that the bullet didn't go very far, she could pull it out easily. She placed her fingers around the bullet and pulled. It was hard at first; the blood had been rushing over the wound. She was lucky that the material of Vincent's cape was thick and slowed the bullet down or she would be in more pain than she was. She kept trying to pull it out, but it was just too slippery for her. She heard a movement and noticed that Vincent was kneeling down next to her.

"Why did you do that?" she cried, pounding him on the shoulder. "What were you thinking!"

"I was acting on instinct." was all he said as he looked at her arm. Yuffie bit the inside of her cheek.

"What if you aimed more towards your left huh? I could be dead!" cried Yuffie. Vincent glanced at the crying ninja. She was correct, if he had taken time to aim, she probably would have been dead. This sent a weird feeling through him, the feeling felt very out of place, so shaking it off was easy to do. He glanced at her arm and slowly pushed her right hand away. He took his claw and gently pulled the bullet from her arm. Yuffie let out a gasp and a soft "Ow." and was finished. He stood up and watched as the young girl used a cure materia and watched as the wound healed itself. He found it quite interesting that the girl had been crying over a bullet wound when he was sure that she had been injured worse in the past. How could she call herself a ninja if she cried over that?

Yuffie stood up and glared at Vincent. She was about to say something when she caught sight of the stream behind him.

"Since you shot at me and made me bloody, I have the right to bathe there in that stream before we head out." stated Yuffie and she brushed passed Vincent. Vincent watched her as she began to unlace her boots when he asked,

"What about the red headed man?" Yuffie tossed her boots to the side and took off her over shirt.

"I have my weapon with me." she said as she tossed her over shirt aside and stripped off her socks. "And I can scream loudly." she finished. She glanced at Vincent and turned a bit pink in the cheeks. "You can't watch me while I bathe, it isn't... Uh... nice..." she babbled, crossing her arms.

"I'm not going to leave you." he said, leaning against the tree. He did want to leave, but he felt that if he was to leave, she could get herself into trouble and then he wouldn't be able to make his way to Wutai. He had no money so he wouldn't be able to pay his way over to the continent, so he needed her to stay alive until they got there.

"At least turn around!" spat Yuffie, bringing Vincent away from his thoughts. Doing as she said, he turned around and looked in front of him. He had no real reason on wanting to go to Wutai, but her mentioning that was her native land, he was very curious. He hadn't been to Wutai in so long, that he wanted to be there. He found it strange, but it just seemed right to want to go back to Wutai.

-0-

A coffee mug made a soft clink as it touched the table. Papers shifted and a sigh filled the quiet room. Sierra adjusted her glasses and put the papers down. She had been in the same room that Adrian had brought her the previous night since five that morning. She checked her watch and noticed that it was already 10:30. She gave a groan and rubbed her eyes. She didn't know how much information she would remember, but she remembered quite a bit about the man. It intrigued her that he used to be a Turk. That means he is very good with a gun. A smile spread across her lips a bit. Her passion was guns. Ever since she was little, she had always been in love with guns. She loved all the other weapons she had been trained in as well, but she was quite fond of just shooting people when it came down to it, finding it much quicker. She glanced at the table. Maybe that was one of the reasons Egeon had decided to not let her tag along on this mission, he was more of a martial arts man. He was skilled in weapons, but most were close range weapons, not distance. Sierra gave a sigh and pushed away from her desk. She wasn't going to learn anymore about this man so she figured she'd go and report to Adrian what she knew and figure out what he wanted to do next.

Adrian stood in front of his mouse, his eyes watching as the creature ran up and down its cage quickly. Adrian grabbed a syringe and opened the top of the cage. The mouse slowed down and looked up at Adrian. Adrian waited, looking at the mouse. The mouse seemed uneasy. It knew that Adrian was going to do something and Adrian knew that if he didn't wait long enough, he wouldn't be able to catch the mouse to inject it with the next part of his experiment. Something flashed quickly and the next thing the mouse knew it was on its back kicking its legs wildly. Adrian stuck the mouse with the syringe and watched as it twitched and settled down. Adrian replaced the mouse and watched it. It seemed to be weakened. His face relaxed as he stared at the mouse. It was probably just the effects that were making the mouse weaker than it should be.

Adrian pulled the gloves from his hands and tossed them aside. The door to his office opened and Sierra walked in through the door. She threw a file down upon his desk. Adrian looked at the file then at Sierra.

"Finished already?"

"I'm going." Adrian raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" he asked. His arms folded across his chest as he looked at Sierra.

"I'm going to go to Costa Del Sol. If Egeon has a problem with that, then he can answer to Me." explained Sierra. Adrian gave a small little smile.

"If you are so persistent to go, then fine. You can go." Adrian picked up the file and began to flip through the papers. "These should help. Thank you Sierra. It is a bit of a shame you are going, that ninja girl has a knack for killing my agents. Don't get killed." explained Adrian, turning around. Sierra bit her lip.

"Of course."

Sierra sat in the lounge, a cup of coffee in her hands. She let out a sigh and sank into her chair. She couldn't believe she just did that. No one commanded Adrian like that, no one. If Adrian said you weren't going to go on a mission, you don't go. Sierra took a sip of her coffee and stared into it. Why did she want to go so bad? Was it because she knew that Valentine was skilled with a gun? Was the thought of fighting against someone with that knowledge thrill her? Or was it because she wanted to go against Egeon's wishes, to show him that she was just as strong as him? Sierra sat her cup upon the table in front of her and leaned back into her chair. Whatever the reason, she sure was crazy to suggest it.

_Don't get killed._ That phrase... That phrase had scared her. Yes, the ninja girl had been defeating them a lot easier than they had thought; could she actually be strong enough to kill her, Sierra? Sierra shook her head. No. No whiny ninja girl could kill her that just wasn't acceptable.

-0-

Yuffie hummed softly to herself as she sat in the stream, the water reached over her chest, and she felt nice and warm even though the stream was a bit cold. She ran her hands through her wet hair as she tried to wash it the best she could without shampoo. Her hand slowly slid down to her left shoulder. A tiny mark was left where a bullet had been just minutes beforehand. Yuffie's eyes glanced at the water. He had actually shot her. That thought wasn't very reassuring that she should stay with him. Yuffie knew she shouldn't drag him into it, but she wanted someone there traveling with her and for some reason, being around him made her feel safe. Yuffie smiled and looked up at the trees, her eyes trying to focus on the trees above her. She could have sworn she saw something moved. She bit her lip; it couldn't be anything that wasn't normal.

Something touched Yuffie's leg, bringing her out of her thoughts and she froze. She held her breath, afraid that if she even took one little breath she would be swallowed by whatever was in the water. What seemed like minutes passed and she slowly let out her breath. Yuffie shook her head as she loosened up. It couldn't have been anything; it was just her imagination running wild. Yuffie couldn't grasp when she last had a semi relaxing morning in the last week so maybe it was starting to play tricks with her mind.

Something slowly slid across her thigh and Yuffie let out a high pitch scream. She jumped out of the stream and stumbled to her weapon that was lying by a nearby tree. She grabbed her weapon and stood there, one hand on her weapon, the other covering up her chest. She looked in the water, determined to find the culprit that had touched her.

Vincent leaned against a tree, his eyes looking upwards, his mind wandering. Why had the redheaded man not attack them that night? Was there some secret motive behind his thinking or did he know exactly where they were going? They lost him in Nibelheim but all good assassins know how to keep track of their targets, even if you couldn't see them. His eyes glanced down. Why was he standing by a tree anyway? He shouldn't even be awake; he should be burned and laying in the rubble of the ShinRa mansion. This girl, she somehow talked him into going with her, to help her home to Wutai. Vincent closed his eyes. Would going back to Wutai answer anything?

Vincent's ears twitched, something was different. Vincent opened his eyes and looked around. It was quieter than what it had been a few seconds ago and Vincent couldn't put a finger on it. Suddenly, a scream broke the silence and Vincent grasped his gun. He turned around and ran towards the water. Trees parted and Vincent found himself staring at the bare backside of Yuffie, her arm in the air with her conformer ready to be launched.

"Yuffie?" he called. Yuffie froze. Vincent had to move to the side, just barely missing Yuffie's throw. Vincent watched as the conformer stuck into a tree and he looked back just to notice that Yuffie wasn't there anymore. Yuffie peaked from behind a tree, one of her hands trembling as it held onto the tree... Her eyes caught with Vincent's and she hid behind the tree again.

"Vinnie!! Don't look!" she squeaked, her arms covering up her body as if Vincent could see her through the tree she was hiding behind.

"What?" he asked. Yuffie bit her lip before shouting,

"I'm naked!" Yuffie let out a little squeak as she found her arms covering up her body once again. Vincent put his gun back into its place and slowly turned around.

"I've turned around." Yuffie's cheeks went hot as she peaked from behind the tree once again. She saw Vincent's cape flutter a bit in the wind as she dashed to grab her clothes. She fumbled with them, trying to put them on in a hurry while her heart was beating fast, her face as red as an apple. She didn't know how much Vincent saw, but whatever he saw, it scared her, no body should see her naked, no one.

Minutes passed and Yuffie stood behind Vincent.

"I'm sorry." she said, a pout upon her face. "It just isn't nice to go peaking at girls though!" Vincent glanced at her.

"You think that I would do such a thing?" he asked. Yuffie crossed her arms.

"Of course! You're a _man_. All men do that." she huffed. Vincent turned from her.

"Not all men are slime." he said. He began to walk back to the entrance to the forest. Yuffie opened her mouth but shut it. She raced after Vincent and fell into stride next to him.

"Not all men are slime but all men would look at a naked woman's body. Well... unless they liked the same sex..." Yuffie glanced at Vincent. "You aren't one of _them_ are you?" she asked. Vincent looked at her.

"What?"

"If you are, it's okay! I have no problem if you like the same sex! Whatever floats your boat!" squeaked Yuffie, her cheeks getting hot.

"Yuffie..." Vincent said. He sighed. "No." Yuffie stopped and watched as he walked.

"No what?" she asked. When she noticed he wasn't stopping, Yuffie ran after him.

"No what?!"

-0-

Egeon watched as Yuffie and Vincent walked away from the stream, their voices softly fading. Egeon let out a sigh; he had almost been seen by the ninja but was lucky that something distracted her. He did enjoy the view and he smiled while thinking about it. He hopped down from the tree he was in and looked around. He had to figure out the quickest way to get to Costa Del Sol. A soft _wock_ came from behind him and he turned to face it. A yellow chocobo stood across the stream, its beak engulfed in the water. Egeon gave a small little smile. The chocobo was his ticket.

-0-

Sierra sat in her living room, an arrangement of guns sitting in front of her. Her eyes glanced over them all. Which one... which one to take with her. Her hand finally came to rest upon one of the medium sized ones and a small smile spread across her face as she put it into its holster. She stood up and walked to her room. She pulled out a duffel bag and threw some clothes into it knowing she could always ditch the bag somewhere and change when needed. She knew not to carry valuable things that way though, in case someone decided to take it. She threw the bag over her shoulder and headed towards the door.

Sierra stopped and turned around, observing her room. She was excited to be leaving, heading off to a fight. Her hand found the doorknob and she twisted it, letting herself out and closing it behind her.

-0-

"Come on..." said Yuffie quietly. Vincent glanced at Yuffie, then back at the chobobo in front of them.

"Yuffie... must we do this?" he asked, shifting weight from one leg to another. It was already early afternoon and they were just about to cross the mountains. Yuffie had insisted they find chocobos, saying it would be easier to cross the mountains.

"I thought yellow chocobos couldn't cross over mountains." Yuffie giggled as she threw the Chocobo in front of her a bundle of greens.

"That's silly. Of course they can cross mountains. These can only follow man made paths. If you were to have a certain colored chocobo you could cross mountains without man made paths and cross the ocean without ever sinking into the water. You sure don't know much about chocobos." explained Yuffie. She watched as the chocobo nibble on the greens as she slowly approached it. Vincent watched as Yuffie slowly walked towards the Chocobo, stopping when she noticed that the bird had stopped nibbling on the greens. Yuffie hastily held out her hand and stroked the bird's neck. It cooed and looked up, its brown eyes staring down into Yuffie's. Vincent was surprised as Yuffie gently stroked the bird. She had managed to catch the Chocobo without ranting, yelling, or acting like a child. She seemed to know when she needed to be.

"See Vincent that is how you do It." said Yuffie. She stroked the bird's beak but let out a yelp when the chocobo bit her. "You damn bird!" she spat. The chocobo cooed and bobbed its head. Yuffie threw her arms around the neck of the bird to settle it down. "I'm sorry! Stop!" The chocobo settled down and gave a coo of acceptance. Yuffie looked at Vincent.

"Let's go!" she chirped, hoisting herself up onto the chocobo's back. Vincent raised an eyebrow.

"Am I supposed to walk there?" he asked. Yuffie shook her head.

"No silly! Get on! Chocobo's can handle up to two people, get on!" Vincent observed the Chocobo and then looked back at Yuffie.

"Are you sure it will handle both of our weights?" Yuffie's eyes lowered.

"Are you calling me fat?" she asked. Vincent just stared at Yuffie.

"What?" Vincent asked. Yuffie scrunched up her nose and mouth then turned her face up into the air and dug her heels into the side of the chocobo.

"Walk." Vincent watched as Yuffie rode off on the chocobo. Vincent gave out a sigh. So much about Yuffie acting her age when she wanted to. He began to follow behind the chocobo.

Yuffie glanced over her shoulder and noticed Vincent walking behind. Yuffie looked down at the feathers she had been clutching and gently let them go. She let out a soft sigh and stopped the chocobo. She waited until Vincent had caught up.

"Get on." she said. Vincent looked at her. "Come on, get on... We are wasting time." she said. Vincent hesitated as he looked at Yuffie on the chocobo. Yuffie glared at him "Come on! I want to get to Costa Del Sol before the morning if possible." explained Yuffie. Vincent mounted the chocobo, trying to steady himself. It had been a long time since he had rode a chocobo, so being on one after so long startled him a bit.

"Hold on." she said as she kicked the chocobo. It let out a loud wock and dashed off. Yuffie grabbed a hold of the feathers and held tightly. She felt arms wrap around her waist and she bit her lip. She didn't know why, but with arms wrapped around her she felt a little bashful, something she rarely felt. She didn't understand it and didn't know why it was beginning to bug her so much.

-0-

Vincent felt the chocobo run a steady pace, the feathers rubbing against his legs. The mountain range had been in his eye sight for a while now and the more the chocobo ran, the closer it came to them. Vincent felt a bit uneasy on the chocobo, he felt like an open target, one that the redheaded man could easily take down. Right under Vincent's chin was the top of Yuffie's head. She had been abnormally quiet for a while now, and Vincent wasn't sure why that was. He guessed the ninja could be quiet when she wanted to or maybe she got motion sickness, whatever the reason Vincent enjoyed the quiet.

Yuffie bit her lip as they rode on the chocobo. Her butt was sore, but she knew that Vincent wouldn't allow them to stop until they could stop where they had cover. It was late in the afternoon and Yuffie was hungry and restless. She hated being in one spot for so long, and on the back of a chocobo with a haunting man holding onto you would make anyone restless. Watching the mountains getting closer and closer calmed Yuffie, making her eyes grow heavy. The little sleep from the previous days had finally caught up with her relaxed body and made her slip into a peaceful sleep.

Vincent felt Yuffie go unusually limp in his arms. He felt her head lean back against him, her eyes closed; her mouth was open a bit. Her hands slipped from holding onto the chocobo and hung off the side. Vincent felt his legs grip the chocobo tighter than before as he held the limp Yuffie in his arms. He felt a small streak of panic. What was wrong with her? A second later, he noticed that she was just sleeping. She let out a small sigh as she wiggled a bit, her body seeming to melt into Vincent's. Vincent's arms were tight around Yuffie's body as she leaned against him. His human hand reached out a grabbed some feathers to keep his balance on the bird and scooted forward a bit. Yuffie let out a soft sigh. Vincent looked down at the sleeping figure. She must be exhausted from the last week for she slept like a log the night before. His eyes looked ahead of him as they entered the mountain range. It would be extremely bumpy, so Vincent's grip on Yuffie tightened as he held her against him. Her small body seemed to be swallowed up by his body as the rode. If you were to look from the side you would think there was one person, not two, on the back of the chocobo who began to jump over rocks here and there as they followed the man made path up the mountain.

The trip through the mountain was going smoothly, a little too smoothly for Vincent. Usually monsters would pop out from time to time to attack a normal person but Vincent had yet to see one single monster in the mountain. A scream told Vincent that he was about to find the monster he had been worrying about. Vincent dug his heels into the side of the chocobo, making it go faster. Vincent leaned down and spoke into Yuffie's ear,

"Yuffie." Yuffie's eyes snapped open, her body becoming stiff. Where was she and who whispered in her ear? "Yuffie you are safe." Yuffie's heart slowed down as she realized she was on the back of a chocobo with Vincent holding onto her.

"Vinnie?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"There is a monster up ahead, I heard a scream." Yuffie seemed to be awake now. She sat up straight, her eyes open and alert. Yuffie grabbed a hold of the feathers and seemed to take over the control of the chocobo. Her eyes glanced around, her ears alert and listening.

"Over there!" she said, pointing to the right. Steering the chocobo to the right, it jumped over a rock and came to a halt. There stood a monster on a bridge, in its sight was a small girl dressed in pink, her eyes wide and scared.

Yuffie brought the chocobo to a halt and jumped off, pulling out her conformer. Her eyes narrowed as the monster jumped towards the girl.

"Hey!" cried Yuffie, throwing her conformer. It zoomed through the air, hitting the monster, and returning to her. The monster turned around, it's red eyes rested upon her. Vincent stepped up next to her, pulling out his gun.

"Yuffie, go protect the girl, I will take care of this monster..." said Vincent softly. Yuffie glanced at him.

"But!"

"Do it." Yuffie bit her lip then nodded. She turned her attention to the monster.

"Take this!" she shouted, throwing her conformer. While it was traveling towards the monster, Yuffie made a break for the small girl. She jumped over the tail of the creature and landed next to the girl. She wrapped her arms around the crying child and hid behind some rocks. She watched as the conformer dropped to the ground and the monster let out a huge scream. Vincent let down his gun as the monster turned to him. It lunged for him and Vincent jumped to the side. He put up his gun, aimed, and shot. The monster roared and brought his clawed hand across Vincent's shoulder, tearing through the fabric of his shirt and digging into his flesh. Vincent bit his lip as he felt blood trickle down his arm.

"Vincent!" cried Yuffie. She held the child in her arms tightly. She wanted to help him, but didn't want to leave the girl alone. Vincent shot the beast again and again but the creature wouldn't stop. Yuffie looked down at the crying girl and ruffled her hair.

"You stay here, okay? Don't move and stay quiet, I need to help my friend." she said. The small girl nodded and Yuffie let her go and stood up. She ran towards her conformer and grabbed it then threw it with all her might at the creature. It struck and the monster turned around. Its tail tried to hit Yuffie but she barely jumped to the side in time. She tumbled on the ground and got to her feet in time to grab her conformer and throw it back towards the monster at the same time as Vincent shot it. Finally the monster fell to the ground, defeated. Yuffie caught her conformer and jumped up and down.

"We did it!" she cooed. Vincent held his arm as he put his gun away. Yuffie glanced at Vincent and was about to say something when a loud voice filled their ears.

"Marlene!!" Yuffie turned around and caught a glimpse of something shiny and something black.

"Daddy!" cried the girl. A dark skinned man held the pale child in his arms, a gun attached to his one arm.

"Marlene, I told you not to run off!" the man said. Marlene looked down and poked her father gently in an apologetic manner.

"I... I was chasing a rabbit..."

"Is she your daughter?" asked Yuffie. The man looked up startled and stared at Yuffie.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Yuffie Kisaragi!" said Yuffie, puffing up her chest. "And that is my friend Vincent Valentine."

"They saved me dad..." said Marlene. The man looked at his daughter then looked at Yuffie and Vincent.

"I'm Barrett." Yuffie smiled.

"Hello Barrett!" she cooed, smiling brightly. Barrett sneered.

"If you would allow, could we please make our way to your village? We have been traveling all day and resting would be appreciated." explained Vincent. The sun was starting to set and Barrett glared at Vincent.

"Why the hell would I do that?" spat Barrett.

"Dad!" said Marlene. Barrett looked at Marlene then at Vincent and Yuffie.

"Okay... But not for long!" Yuffie clapped her hands together and smiled.

"Great!"

-0-

"Hold still dangit, that wound is tough." said Yuffie, swatting Vincent as she put his shirt to the side and touched his wound gently. Vincent tried not to show pain as she used her low level cure. The wound healed some, but there was still a little blood and there was still a cut. "Marlene, do you have any bandages?" asked Yuffie. Marlene nodded and hurried off to grab them. Barrett stood in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen and grunted. Marlene rushed passed him, bandages in hand. She handed them to Yuffie and she smiled, nodding. She began to bandage Vincent, humming softly to herself.

"You need to be more careful Mr. Vincent." said Marlene. Vincent looked at Marlene but said nothing. Yuffie giggled as she tied the bandage.

"Yes, Mr. Vinnie, you should be more careful." Yuffie put down the bandages and sat on a chair. She looked at Marlene.

"Thank you Marlene for your help!" Marlene smiled and then looked at Barrett.

"Can they stay for dinner?" Barrett opened his mouth.

"WHAT!??"

"We have already overstayed our welcome..."

"Please?!"

"Yes, please?!" questioned Yuffie, her eyes never leaving Barrett. Barrett curled his human hand into a fist and smashed it into the wall.

"Damnit... Marlene, go gather eggs from the chickens out back... And don't go chasing any more rabbits!" shouted Barrett as Marlene ran out the door, dragging Yuffie along with her.

The room was silent as the door shut. Barrett looked at Vincent who was pulling on his tattered shirt.

"She isn't your biological daughter is she?" asked Vincent quietly. Barrett sat down and shook his head.

"No... I took her in... I feel like she is truly my daughter though..." Barrett looked down at the ground, a sigh coming from his mouth. "All she has known is war and fighting... I thought moving back to this town would help... Start to bring it back up to its original state but she keeps getting into trouble... You don't know how happy I am that you guys saved her. If anything would have happened... DAMNIT!" shouted Barrett, slamming his hand onto the arm rest of his chair.

"I'm sorry if we are overstaying our welcome. I didn't want to be here too long... We have someone following us and I don't want to bring you into It." explained Vincent. Barrett looked at Vincent.

"After ya? Why?" Vincent gave a small shrug.

"They are after Yuffie and I have no idea why..." said Vincent. Barrett crossed his arms.

"Marlene is going to ask you guys to stay the night." said Barrett.

"Why?"

"Because she likes that dumb girl. She is like a big sister, there aren't a lot of girls in this town, and most of them are women. That girl seems like a pain in the ass, how can you stand her?" asked Barrett.

"I..."

"We got the eggs!" cried Marlene.

"Be careful!" shouted Barrett. _Crack_.

"Sorry!" cried Yuffie. 

"Damnit!" shouted Barrett, getting up from his chair and storming towards the kitchen. Vincent sat there alone for a moment. Why was he following Yuffie? Was there any purpose other than going to Wutai? He could go there by himself so why was he blindly following Yuffie into what could end up killing him and her both? Why... Why?

"Yuffie! Read me a story please!" cooed Marlene, as she pulled on her sleeping gown. Yuffie smiled as she was buttoning up a very large shirt.

"I hope you can stand one of papa's old shirts... None of my things would fit you." said Marlene. Yuffie smiled.

"It's okay; I sleep in over sized shirts all the time... But I usually have shorts on underneath, not just my underwear." explained Yuffie. The shirt reached her knees so she didn't feel so exposed to the guys as if she would be wearing the shirt she usually wore to bed. "Where are you books?"

"Living room." said Marlene. Yuffie smiled.

"You get comfortable in your bed and I'll be right back." said Yuffie. Yuffie slipped out the door and shut it. A smile was on her face. Marlene was such a cute little girl. Yuffie's head rested on the door gently. She missed being a kid, being so carefree... And having both her parents. Her eyes closed a bit. _Mother..._

"Yuffie." Yuffie jumped and spun around. Vincent stood there, a new black shirt now covering his body than his tore one. A small blush came to her face.

"Vinnie!" she exclaimed. Her hands dropped to her sides and gripped the shirt. She knew it wasn't going to go anywhere, but she felt like she needed to be sure.

"We need to leave before sunrise tomorrow." He said. Yuffie looked down at the ground.

"Okay..." she said. She forgot that they would need to leave the next day. She felt a bit foolish, thinking they could stay longer than a day.

"We can't put them in danger. The Redheaded man could be watching us right now." explained Vincent. Yuffie sighed.

"I know!" she spat. "I just... Like being around them." explained Yuffie. Vincent turned to leave but Yuffie spoke up. "Hey Vinnie?"

"Yes?"

"Do you miss being a child?" she asked softly. "Do you miss your parents?" Vincent stood there for a second but said nothing.

"That has nothing to do with you." he finally said. Yuffie stared as he walked to the bathroom and closed the door. Yuffie kicked the bathroom door.

"Jerk!" she cried. Yuffie marched to the living room, found a book, and marched back to Marlene's room. Marlene sat on her bed, a smile upon her face.

"What took you so long?" she asked. Yuffie gave a shrug.

"I had a run in with a vampire." said Yuffie as she crawled into bed next to Marlene. Marlene giggled as she cuddled up to Yuffie, smiling as Yuffie wrapped her arm around her.

"Mr. Vincent?" asked Marlene. Yuffie grunted a bit.

"That old vampire." Marlene laughed at Yuffie's joke. "Anyway, let's get into this book!" she said happily.

"Marlene, you left your shoes in the middle of the room..." said Barrett, opening Marlene's door. He stopped and a small smile spread across his lips. Marlene lay, asleep, cuddled up to a sleeping Yuffie, a book in her lap. Barrett walked towards them, removing the book and kissing Marlene on the forehead.

"Good night my little princess..." whispered Barrett. Barrett snuck out of the room and closed the door.

"Is Yuffie sleeping in the living room?" asked Vincent. Barrett shook his head.

"No, she's with Marlene. You take the couch." Vincent nodded as Barrett turned out the lights.

"We won't be here when you wake." said Vincent. Barrett stopped before he reached his room.

"I figured..." A few moments passed before he spoke again. "Once you are finished, bring that girl back here alive. Marlene deserves to see her again." Vincent looked up from the couch as Barrett closed his door. Vincent glanced down. Barrett didn't know how big of a request that really was none at all.

-0-

**A/N: This chapter is longer than it should be... I could have made it into two chapters, but I rather have long chapters than short... And I would feel like I would have to add onto the stay with Barrett and I felt like it is too much of a filler. This chapter really is just a filler chapter... I'm not too happy with it, it feels different than the other two but I needed to write it to be able to get on with the plot. I didn't want to jump straight to Costa Del Sol ya know... I would feel that it is rushed. Sorry for any OOCness that is happening (mostly with Barrett.) The next chapter should be better but it might take a bit to get it out, I go back to school and I had to force myself to finish this one before school started. So here it is! Sorry if it isn't up to par with the other two chapters.**


	4. Costa del Sol

**Chapter 4**

A hand gripped the doorknob and slowly opened the door. A dark figure slipped into a silent room, the curtains drawn across the window. There was breathing, soft breathing coming from the far wall. Red eyes glowed softly as the figure moved towards the bed. Vincent stood next to the bed, his eyes taking in the sleeping little girl, Marlene, wrapped up against Yuffie's arm. Vincent took a breath and leaned close to Yuffie, so he wouldn't wake the little girl.

"Yuffie," he whispered in her ear, but Yuffie didn't stir. "Yuffie..." Vincent gave a grunt, the girl not waking up. His hand reached out and gently touched Yuffie's arm. A hand sprang up, grabbing a hand full of ebony hair. Vincent restrained himself from grabbing Yuffie by the neck so instead he grabbed her wrist. He squeezed her wrist a little and Yuffie's eyes opened wide, shooting to Vincent. She made a soft mumble in her throat, Vincent not knowing why but figured it was an apology. Her grip on his hair loosened the same with Vincent's grip on her wrist and her hand fell to her side gently. Yuffie took her eyes off of Vincent and looked at Marlene. Swiftly, she was out of the grip of the little girl and up on her feet next to Vincent. Vincent was a bit impressed, when Yuffie wanted to be she could be quite stealthy, just like a ninja. Yuffie stumbled to the door, almost falling over one of Marlene's shoes, and Vincent's previous thought seemed to vanish.

Yuffie stumbled in the living room, her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness of the room. It was too early for her, and she didn't like it. Her hand ran across anything and everything just to keep herself from falling over. She finally made it to the front door and kicked her shoes. She grabbed them and slid them on, grabbing the doorknob for balance. She stood up, stretched, and looked behind her. She could barely make out Vincent in the dark, but his eyes seemed to stand out. She went to open the door but Vincent cleared his throat. Yuffie looked back and felt Vincent's body an inch away from hers. She let out a small squeak and looked up, hair tickling her nose.

"I would change if I were you," spoke Vincent softly, as to not wake anyone in the house. Yuffie was confused until she realized she felt a small breeze hit her bare legs. She glanced down and felt her hands grab the bottom of the shirt she wore. Her eyes went wide and she shoved Vincent away from her.

"Vinnie you perv!" she hissed, dashing to Marlene's bedroom for her pack and to change her clothes. Vincent just shook his head.

* * *

The sun was barely hitting the horizon as Vincent walked towards the stable, a half asleep Yuffie stumbling behind.

"Vinnie... why must we leave so early... It's cold..." she said softly, her arms wrapped around her body. Vincent glanced back at her and then back ahead of him.

"We have a long travel ahead of us..." he explained, his voice soft, not wanting to wake anyone in the houses. Vincent opened the barn door and held it opened for Yuffie. She mumbled thanks and shuffled her feet as she walked in. Vincent let the door shut softly behind him and turned around. Barrett stood next to Yuffie, holding onto the reigns of the chocobo.

"Hey." said Yuffie softly, petting the chocobo on the beak. The chocobo gave a wock and bobbed its head up and down.

"Barrett..." said Vincent. Barrett let out a grunt and shoved the reigns into Yuffie's hands.

"Thought I'd get the chocobo ready before I headed off to work... Save you guys' time." Barrett spat as he walked towards the door.

"Thank you." said Yuffie sleepily, resting her head on the neck of the yellow bird. Barrett stopped next to Vincent and leaned in to whisper,

"Remember what I told you." and Barrett was gone. Vincent's eyes looked down, an eerie feeling in his chest. That request seemed a lot harder than what it should be. A wock brought Vincent out of his thoughts as he watched as Yuffie slide down to the ground, her eyes closed. Vincent groaned softly as he walked towards the chocobo. He knelt next to Yuffie and shook her.

"Wake up." he said. Yuffie's eyes opened up slowly and she glared at him.

"I'm tired, let me sleep." she said.

"You can sleep on the way, now get up." Vincent scooped up Yuffie and her eyes went wide. She felt her legs land on either side of the chocobo and felt warm fabric engulf her.

"You shouldn't be cold now." said Vincent softly as he grabbed the reigns and steered the chocobo towards the front of the barn. Yuffie's cheeks began to burn and she didn't know why. She had been teased on by the guys in the village, sometimes being picked up and thrown but it had never made her cheeks burn. Vincent was a vampire, a person she had met a while ago and yet, he made her cheeks flush. Yuffie clutched the fabric of the cape to her as the harsh morning air hit her cheeks, Yuffie thanking the heavens that coldness made your cheeks red. She felt Vincent behind her, his arms on either sides of her and felt the chocobo start to trot away from the small village. The sun was now barely peaking from the horizon and Yuffie closed her eyes, her body relaxing against Vincent's chest and drifted to sleep.

* * *

The sun was beating down upon the water, the air becoming muggy and hot. Several little kids ran by, giggling and splashing water at each other. A man with a black hat and sunglasses sat in a chair, watching them. He lowered his sunglasses and a few red locks of hair fell into his eyes. He took his hand and pushed away the strands as he stood up. Egeon was tired of waiting; the two of them should have been there by now. He let out a grunt of frustration and turned to go.

"Hey mister!!" called a voice from behind him. Egeon figured it was someone else that little child was calling too so he ignored it. "Hey, you in the black!!" Egeon stopped and turned around. A ball came to stop at his feet and he realized that they wanted it back. "A 'lil help?" Egeon grinned. He picked up the ball and kicked it into the air, sending it into the water. The child and his friends began to shout as Egeon turned to walk away.

"Playing with little kids I see." Egeon stopped in his tracks. In front of him stood a brunette, her eyes looking at him through her glasses. Egeon swallowed as he looked at her.

"Sierra..." he said softly. Why was she here, he specifically told Adrian not to send her he wanted anyone but her. Sierra gave a smile and gave a tilt to her head.

"Walk with me." she said and turned around and began to walk off. Egeon sighed and followed her.

"Why are you here?" asked Egeon, sitting in the shade near the Inn. Sierra sipped her drink and played with the straw.

"I felt like I needed to come." she explained, swirling the straw around.

"But I told Adrian..."

"I told Adrian that he had to let me go." Egeon rubbed his forehead. He didn't like this feeling, this feeling of worry about a person. Sierra was a close friend of his, someone who had been with Adrian for as long as he was. The feelings he had for her were feelings he had never felt before, feelings that were so strange he hated them and kept them in the back of his mind, refusing to let them out. She was special, she was special and he hated knowing that, hated that feeling of having someone special in his life. He wanted to live the life of an assassin, free of ties to anyone but his human needs got in his way and he found himself engulfed with this woman who confused him and threatened his perfect life of solitude. He didn't want her to be with him on this mission due to the fact that the stupid Kisaragi girl had already killed a handful of his men since she arrived in Costa del Sol. This was a dangerous mission, one that shouldn't be dangerous at all, but it was and he hated it.

Egeon looked up, locking eyes with Sierra.

"I want you to leave."

"You can't tell me to leave, I want to be here!" shouted Sierra, standing up and slamming her drink on the table. "How is this mission any more dangerous than the previous battles we have fought? I don't understand if anything this should be an easy gig for you yet it's turned into a wild goose chase and you've lost good men because of it!" Sierra glared at Egeon. She didn't understand him! How could he say he didn't want her when he knew for a fact she could handle her own, she wasn't just one of the men that worked for Adrian, she was skilled and talented and knew how to stay alive. Why couldn't Egeon see that? She wanted to do this for him, that's all she wanted to do. She wanted to see him succeed and take it easy for a little bit instead of being strung out and unhappy like he was now. Why didn't he see that?

Egeon looked away from her, his eyes on the ground. She was too fiery, way too fiery for just being told to stay home. There was something else that was behind her words and he knew it. He knew she felt the same way he felt about her, she just didn't know it. He hated it, hated knowing that it wasn't one sided it just made it more difficult and probably the reason he hadn't been able to let go of the horrible feelings inside. He balled up his hand into a fist and squeezed hard.

Sierra noticed that there was something going on in Egeon's mind for his eyes was distant; a look he got when he was thinking about something else other than what was being discussed. Sierra slowly sat down, her anger and frustration slowly leaving her. She knew when to be quiet, and this was the time when she needed to. She began to play with her straw again, stirring it around and around in her drink.

"I won't interfere unless you can't capture her here." explained Sierra, taking a sip of her drink. Egeon looked over at her, his fist slowly loosening up.

"How will you interfere if I can't capture her?" he asked softly. Sierra smiled sweetly at him, happy that his spark was starting to come back.

"I know things that you don't know." Egeon raised an eyebrow and sat up straighter.

"What do you mean that you know things that I don't know? What are you hinting at?" he asked.

"I know the man that is with Kisaragi and I know everything about him for the last fifty years." she said, her smile growing bigger. Egeon's eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Do tell."

* * *

"So how long have you seriously been locked up in that stupid coffin?" asked Yuffie, munching on a piece of bread.

"None of your business, like I have said before." he explained, pulling a small piece from the bread and rolling it around in his fingers. Yuffie pouted. She had been asking him the same question since they decided to rest and he had yet to answer her. She wanted to know what was going on inside of the vampire's brain, something that she rarely ever wanted to know. This man fascinated her and that scared and excited her. He was a question marked box that she just wanted to pry into and find out what was inside. She figured she found a great body guard, one that was strong and held secrets she wanted to find out.

"Please?" she asked. Vincent said nothing. Yuffie signed and began to think, what could give her a clue on how long he had been locked up?

"Do you remember the threat a couple years back?" she asked. She watched as Vincent shifted just a little and she knew she had him. "You don't, do you?" Vincent stayed silent, not liking this game.  
"Well, I guess I'll tell you the story. It happened a couple years ago, I was only 16 then. I decided to leave my home because Wutai wasn't as prosperous as it once was so I decided to do my family proud and gain the respect and wealth back to our city... So naturally, I became a thief, a thief for beautiful Materia. Anyway, I set out on a hunt across the world to gain the Materia and take it back to my father.

"My father, he's a weird person... He wanted me to stay at home and become the proper princess that I am. Yes sir, I am a princess! Me, Yuffie, a princess. Anyway, I didn't want to, I didn't like wearing pretty things; I felt that they just didn't fit me. He had given up on trying to make me wear the traditional clothing of the royalty that I am. When he did get me into the clothing I would just ruin it with jumping in the mud and splashing around and then he'd get angry and just ground me..." Yuffie smiled at the thoughts and picked at her bread. She had forgotten she hadn't seen her father for a while; she had been on the move for quite some time so thinking back upon her father made her feel homesick. Vincent glanced at her.

"Why didn't your mother teach you the ways of being a Princess?" Yuffie's eyes softened and she gave a sad smile.  
"Because my mother died when I was young." Vincent stayed still as he felt the young girl lose certain energy about her as she said those words. He should have known she didn't have a mother or she would have mentioned her by now... His instincts must be a bit off to not have noticed something as important as that.

"I'm sorry, that was inappropriate of me." he said. Yuffie gave a smile.

"No, it's okay; I should have said that at the beginning. My mother died when I was young... I barely remember her, but I've been told I look like my mom from time to time so that makes me happy. I still look at her beautiful traditional clothing and vowed that one day I would be worthy and pretty enough to wear it. Once that happens I told myself I'd stop going on adventures and would stay put in Wutai... This was a hard promise to make because I love being free and not having to be tied down to anything, anyone. My father gets mad at me for this reason. I just tell him to shove off and I'll do things my own way." explained Yuffie. Yuffie finally snapped out of it and laughed.

"How did this get onto my personal life? That's no fair!! Vinnie, I ask you questions and you ignore me but when you ask a simple question, you learn my whole family background!" Yuffie gave a pout; she hadn't meant to tell him that much information, just a base for the story.

"You're the one who started talking about her family to begin your story." explained Vincent. Yuffie scrunched up her nose.

"Fine, I won't tell you what happened a couple years ago!" she spat, crossing her arms and looking away from Vincent. Vincent felt annoyed. How could he possibly take this girl all the way back to Wutai if she acted like this? She seemed to have two different personalities, one crazy and one serious side which intrigued him. Most people were deep, but you could see those two sides easily in the person but with her all you could see was the crazy, bubbly personality. It seemed like she wanted to hide her grown up personality that was deep inside of her just so she wouldn't have to go back to Wutai and become the so called princess that she was. Yet, he was curious on what seemed to be a big event that he had missed due to him being asleep in his coffin trying to repent for everything that had had done. He felt bad for feeling curious, he shouldn't care what happened a couple years ago, he shouldn't be awake at all and it was all due to her. They were wasting time, and he felt agitated that they hadn't seen the redheaded man since Nibelheim and this worried him. He got up to go back to the Chocobo when he felt a tug on his cape.

"Fine! I'll tell you! No need to get upset!" shouted Yuffie. Vincent looked down at Yuffie, who looked back up at him. "Now sit down!" Vincent sat back down, irritated at his previous thought. He still felt they were in danger, but Yuffie wouldn't budge until she finished her story so he thought she should have her way, just this once.

"Good. Anyway, while I was out on my adventures I noticed something was weird about the sky, it held a very weird color to it. Came to find out that it was a hugeeeeee Meteor coming right for the plant! It was crazy. I figured it would burn up in the sky but as it got closer it got bigger instead of smaller. People began to panic; they felt the end of the world was coming.

"Now, there are several theories out there on why the Meteor was crashing down upon us. Some said that ShinRa was going too far and brought it with outside forces; some say that the planet was trying to get back at us for treating it like crap... I heard it was due to this guy named Sephiroth who was trying to do something... I can't really remember.

"Anyway, this Sephiroth dude was being an evil guy and trying to bring destruction to the planet when a group called Avalanche came and tried to stop him. I met Avalanche once, in the forest... I ambushed them and basically beat them but they were sly and knocked me down... There were three people in the party at that time... This dude with spiky blonde hair, this chick with really big... eh... ya know... and this really pretty girl with brown hair. I don't understand why she was with them; she was very pretty and didn't look much like a fighter. I got a very angelic feeling from her.

"Anyway, they fought this Sephy guy and they ended up winning and they stopped the Meteor from destroying the planet! I heard that the life stream was the reason the Meteor stopped, but that's really nuts... There was a picture of the group in the paper, I remember! That guy we met, Barrett, he was with them. I didn't realize it until just now.

"That girl wasn't in the picture though, I'd remember her but that other chick was in it. I wonder what happened to that girl... I'm hoping she wasn't killed; such a kind girl like her, and it would be horrible if she was killed.

"That's my story!" Vincent had tuned out almost entirely when he heard the name Sephiroth. That name... that name...

"Come on Vinnie, let's get going! We aren't too far from the city; it should be an hour at the most from here." Yuffie sprang up and ran/skipped her way over to the Chocobo. She grabbed the reins and turned around to look at Vincent. He was still on the ground, his eyes cast downwards. "Hey, Vinnie! Earth to Vinnie, let's get going! I want to change and take a proper shower before we head off to Wutai!" Vincent snapped out of his daze and slowly stood up. He walked towards the chocobo and grabbed the reins.

"I'll lead." he said. Yuffie gave a pout.

"No way, I caught him, I lead!" but before she was finished, Vincent was up on the chocobo, waiting for her to get on. Yuffie gave a pet on the chocobo's beak and scrunched up her nose. "You are a poop head Mr. Valentine."

* * *

"FINALLY!" Yuffie slid off the back of the Chocobo and ran into town. Vincent frowned and slid off the Chocobo and walked it towards the entrance. Costa del Sol, it had been a long time since he last visited this town. It was still the same vibrant and outgoing place but it seemed to have even more tourists and from the looks of it, the dock had grown in size since he last saw it, probably on the orders of ShinRa. He found himself walking slowly towards the Inn, his eyes taking in the sunlight, the laughing and all the people walking around, happily. It seems like the events of years before didn't phase anyone like it must have so long ago. He could only imagine that the population of the town would have been their own citizens and the tourists who were afraid of going home. Deep down, he slightly wished that he would have been killed by the Meteor, but then so many other people would have died and that would have made him more of a monster. He was a monster for even thinking of such things and that disgusted him.

Yuffie ran into the Inn and quickly went to her room. She fumbled with her key, opened the door and fell onto the soft, made bed. She let out a sigh of relief as she felt her body totally relax. She rubbed her face on the covers and closed her eyes. She was in heaven and was happy to finally have all of her things back.

She sat up on the bed and took in the room. It looked like nothing had been disturbed while she was gone. Her special pack was still there and a quick glance through she was happy that all her money and Materia was still there. Her kit to take care of her Conformer was still there as well as her extra clothes. She once again fell back onto the bed and let out a sigh. It was nice to be back.

"We should hurry up you know." said a voice from the doorway. Yuffie sat straight up, her hand on her Conformer but eased when she noticed it was Vincent.

"Gee Vinnie, you scared me." she said, stretching.

"I would think you'd know my voice by now." Vincent crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame while Yuffie threw an All Materia at him. His hand shot up and caught it, rolling it around in his hand.

"You shouldn't throw things." Yuffie stuck out her tongue and began to unlace her boots.

"I thought we were leaving?"

"We are, after I take a shower, did I not say this earlier?" she asked, tugging off her boots.

"We could have walked into a trap..."

"Oh, come off it Vincent, I'm a Ninja and you're a Vampire, there is no need to be so worried." Yuffie stood up and walked to her pack and fished out an extra pair of clothes. Yuffie glanced to her right then stood up when she noticed Vincent didn't seem to like her answer. "I know, I know, I'm a great ninja, not just a ninja, sorry for not making that clear." she grinned in her head at her joke, a joke that Vincent didn't find amusing.

"If you are so worried, you can stay outside my room if you wish while I take a shower." she explained as she walked towards her bathroom.

"What if they come through the window?" asked Vincent. Yuffie looked at him.

"They are not going to come through the window Vinnie; they don't know which room I'm in to start with. Geez, you sure are uptight and paranoid." Vincent let out a sigh of annoyance while Yuffie tossed her clothes on the bed and grabbed the handle of her door.

"Now but a good vampire and wait outside. No peeking." she cooed and closed the bathroom door, locking it.

Yuffie looked at the back of the door as she heard the door to her room shut and she gently let go of the knob. Her bodyguard was a very strange man, someone who was uptight, moody and not very happy, and something which was totally unlike her. But, he was alone in this world, and _that_ is what made him like her. Sure, she had her father, but her father looked out for Wutai more than he looked out for her. She felt alone in this world, which was one of the reasons she couldn't accept the calling of her princess duties and kept exploring the land, exploring for that little spark that would make her not feel so alone. She was looking for a light, a new light to help her make it through the rough times and she had yet to see it. Yuffie sighed and started the water for her shower.

She slipped off her over shirt and held it in her hands. Blood... The blood of the man she killed in the mansion, the blood of one of many men she had killed to struggle for her freedom from the ones trying to capture her, reason unknown to her. She was confused and she hated feeling this way. She hated the feeling of confusion, pity, anger... She wanted to be happy, she wanted to be bubbly and crazy; that was her, that was her...

"Yeah... that's me." she said, a smile upon her face. She wasn't moody, she wasn't angry, she was happy. She was herself, happy go lucky Yuffie who didn't care about anything in the world other than Materia. Yes, that was who she was and she made her way into the shower to wash away all doubt that she had, all doubt of who she really was.

* * *

Yuffie exited the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her and another one she was using to rub her hair, trying to get it dry. Yuffie felt amazing after a nice hot shower and shampoo and soap. Yuffie smiled as she thought of more hot showers. A loud crash was heard and Yuffie found herself on the ground, hands around her throat. Yuffie's eyes focused and noticed a man on top of her. Yuffie gasped for air and thrust up with her hips to knock the man off balance, punched the man in the nose and then pushed him off. She scrambled to her feet but almost fell as she felt a hand grab her ankle.

"Let go of me you bastard!" she shouted, kicking him in the face, making him let go. She grabbed her Conformer but felt her body jolt and she let out a scream as her opponent used a Lightening Materia on her. She heard the click of the door and she was finally able to regain her voice. "Bastard!"

Vincent stood in the hallway, walking up and down lost in his thoughts. Why would Yuffie not listen? Not listening would definitely get her hurt and put them in jeopardy. He didn't like it, he didn't like it one bit. He also didn't like that the redheaded man just seemed to disappear, Vincent knew he was still on their tail but he couldn't pinpoint the man's location.

"This Inn hasn't been this popular for a while; I had to turn down a redheaded man yesterday because you got the last room ma'am... Then I had to turn down some other men... It isn't the start of the peak season... This makes me feel that this season is going to be very profitable." Vincent looked around the corner to see the Innkeeper talking to a brunette with glasses. She giggled but soon stopped. She turned her head and her eyes came in contact with Vincent's, making him uneasy. She gave a smile and then turned and began to talk with the Innkeeper some more. Vincent was about to think about how uneasy he felt when he heard a lightening strike and a scream. "Bastard!" _Yuffie_. Vincent turned and ran towards Yuffie's room.

Vincent made it to her room and grabbed the doorknob and twisted but the door wouldn't open. He heard a crash and a curse from inside the room and he kicked once, twice, three times against the door until it finally opened. He ran in to see Yuffie on the ground, her Conformer shielding herself from a man trying to grab her. Vincent raised his gun and shot the man, the man going limp quickly and slid off of Yuffie's Conformer. Yuffie looked and smiled.

"Vincent!" she cried, getting up quickly, grabbing her towel to make sure it stayed up. She ran towards him, grabbing onto him and hugging him. "Vinnie, Vinnie, Vinnie!" she cried. Vincent became stiff and pushed Yuffie to the side, moved to the other side and shot out the window. Yuffie fell to the ground and saw an arrow hit the wall at the spot they were just standing and heard a thud outside.

"Go get dressed," he said. Yuffie nodded and grabbed her clothes and dashed to the bathroom. Vincent looked out the window, his eyes looking around. He didn't see anyone else that would cause harm but then again if they were dressed like the female he saw earlier then the threat could be anyone.

Yuffie ran out of the bathroom, shoving her dirty clothes into a bag, grabbing all her things in the process.

"Lets jet," she said. "Guess they did come through the window." Vincent led the way from the room and they made their way down the stairs. Yuffie dashed passed Vincent but he grabbed her. "Vinnie!"

"You need to pay." he said.

"Not now, we gotta go!"

"Yuffie..." Yuffie fished out some Gil and dropped it on the table and the key.

"Happy?" Vincent nodded. "Good, let's go!"

The two ran out into the public and stopped. Their eyes shot around, trying to find any weird movement. Yuffie grabbed her Conformer and threw it to the left and jumped to the side as arrows landed right where she was. Vincent took out his gun, shooting to the right and hitting a man dressed in black. Yuffie caught her Conformer as she jumped and threw it again. She moved to the left, throwing stars hitting the building behind her. There were screams and cries of children.

"Moooooommmmm!" cried a little girl next to her and Yuffie grabbed the child and held her tongue as a star got her leg. She ran as quickly as she could and put the child inside the nearest building. She yanked the star from her leg and used her Cure Materia and threw the star back in the same direction that it came. Yuffie saw people running and shutting doors left and right and she was worried one of them was going to get in the crossfire of the fight. Yuffie looked around, not seeing any of the men who were attacking them. She bit her lip and threw her Conformer in the direction she threw the star, jumped up and grabbed the edge of the roof of the building. She pulled herself up and was up on top of the roof.

From the top of the roof, Yuffie felt like she had a new sense. From her point on the roof she could see the men dressed in black, all hiding in various windows and trees and roofs. Yuffie caught her Conformer and threw it in the direction of the man who was behind Vincent.

"Vinnie, to your left in that window!" called Yuffie, catching her Conformer and putting it up to block the stars that were thrown at her. "I'm really tired of you bastards following me!" she cried, throwing her Conformer towards the man who almost hit her with the star and used a Lightening Materia on a guy not far from the other.

Vincent aimed and shot at a man and heard him fall and hit the ground. He felt a man come up behind him but was a bit too slow and was tackled to the ground. The man was big and heavy and Vincent was rusty but it didn't take him long to throw the guy off. The man grabbed and yanked Vincent's gun away and threw it to the side. Vincent stood his ground, his claw arm up and the fingers on it moving. The man glanced at Vincent's claw arm and because of that, Vincent's human hand went in and chopped him on the neck then his claw hand thrust forward. The guy fell limp against Vincent and soon was on the ground. Vincent shook his claw hand and wiped it on the guy's shirt, not wanting to dirty his own clothes.

Yuffie's eyes glanced everywhere but she saw no more standing men dressed in black and that feeling made her happy. She held her Conformer and grinned. She leaned over the roof to shout to Vincent when she felt something collide with her back and she felt herself falling over the edge of the roof, not being able to move or grab anything. She hit the ground hard and she let out a painful cry from the impact and that her Conformer dug into the side of her arm, blood beginning to flow from the wound. She tried to push herself up but felt something heavy on her back. She felt fingers entangle her hair and her head was yanked up. She felt lips near her ear and heard a familiar voice,

"You thought I wouldn't be here? How naïve..." Yuffie took her free arm and jabbed the redheaded man in the side, knocking him off of her. She scrambled to her feet, stumbling a bit, and grabbed the Conformer and threw it at him. Being Egeon, he of course jumped out of the way but wasn't fast enough for the throwing stars that Yuffie had kept from the other men. One of the stars got Egeon right on the cheek, making a little scratch with blood beginning to trickle down. Egeon touched his cheek then glared at Yuffie. Egeon began to lunge at Yuffie but he stopped for he was looking down the barrel of Vincent's gun. Vincent aimed and shot, Egeon jumping out of the way but the more he jumped the more Vincent shot and finally got him in the shoulder. Egeon fell to the ground, holding his wounded shoulder. Egeon bit the inside of his cheek, he failed again. _Alright Sierra, it's time for you to do your work._ With that thought, Egeon quickly made a break for it, jumping between houses and disappeared.

Yuffie fell to the ground, exhausted. She fumbled with her Cure Materia, dropping it a few time while her adrenalin wore off. She saw another hand grab the Materia and used it on her arm. Yuffie glanced up at Vincent and gave a smile.

"Thanks Vinnie." Yuffie's ears tightened and she looked over to her left. A brunette woman was over by Yuffie's things and grabbed one of her bags. Yuffie got to her feet and threw her Conformer in the woman's direction. The woman, upon instinct, withdrew a gun and shot at the Conformer, sending it right back at Yuffie.

"You put that bag down!" cried Yuffie. The woman darted off. Yuffie growled and ran and grabbed the rest of her stuff. "Come on Vinnie! We need to get my bag back!" Vincent had frozen, the brunette woman had been the same woman he had saw earlier. So the brunette and the redhead were working as a team? Vincent heard Yuffie's cried followed her.

Yuffie rounded the corner where two black chocobos were waiting and saw the woman on her own black chocobo, riding off into the distance. Yuffie was confused, had this woman planned this all along and did she want them to keep up with her? She provided them with two black chocobos so Yuffie figured that where they were going was a long way off and over streams and mountains. Yuffie threw her stuff over the one chocobo and mounted. Vincent stopped and looked at her.

"Come on Vinnie! She's getting a huge head start!" she cried, gripping the reigns of the chocobo.

"Why are we chasing her? You can find more Materia." Yuffie's grip on the reigns tightened.

"That bag belonged to my mother and I am going to get it back." Vincent gave a small sigh, it all made sense now. He didn't enjoy this feeling of being reckless just because of a bag, but it was Yuffie and she enjoyed to blow things out of the water. He found himself on the back of the chocobo and gripped the reigns.

"Lead the way." Yuffie smiled and kicked the sides of her chocobo, sending him off with Vincent close behind her. Yuffie was determined to get her mother's bag back, it was one of the few things she felt she could actually own of her mom's and she wasn't going to lose it to anyone, especially a brunette bimbo who caught her when she was down.

* * *

A/N: Wow, that took me forever to dish out and I'm sorry! I've been so busy with school and I just couldn't write at all! I did the first page and a half about a week after the last chapter and it's been like that forever. The other day I had wonderful inspiration and I could see everything in my head. I didn't want to stop the chapter here, but it's pretty long already. If any of you would like to be a Beta from here on out, that would be great, just go ahead and tell me... I don't think I want to drag in a random person who hasn't been reading as a Beta soooo :)


	5. Struggles

**Chapter 5**

The sun was low in the sky as the wind blew gently. A young woman sat on a wooden swing hanging from a huge tree. She looked out into the horizon, the wind blowing her long black hair gently. Her brown eyes watched as the trees swayed. She closed her eyes as she swayed back and forth, her hands tightly gripping the rope supporting her. She let out a sigh as she felt hands on the lower part of her back and she felt herself being pushed forward. Her grip tightened and she became ridged until she breathed in the faint scent that was familiar.

"Adrian?" she asked, scared to look behind her. She felt hands above her hands, grabbing the swing and slowing it down. Now as she was stopped, she could smell the faint cologne that her friend wore and she smiled. "Adrian, don't scare me like that! I didn't know who it was." She heard a chuckle behind her and soon her friend was standing in front of her, the setting sun giving him a glow around him.

"Sorry Malia." Malia smiled more as her friend grabbed a hold of the swing again and looked down at her. "How are you?" he asked. Malia gave a small shrug.

"I'm okay… I have just been busy with everything lately I'm surprised that I have the time now to relax like I am," she explained, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. Adrian smiled down at her.

"I was starting to get jealous." Malia looked up at him.

"Jealous? Jealous of what?" she asked. Adrian kept smiling as the wind blew, blowing the strand of hair Malia had tucked away loose. Adrian tucked her hair behind her ear and gently touched her cheek.

"Of the estate you've been spending all your time in… I've missed my best friend," Adrian said softly, his fingers lingering upon Malia's cheek. Malia bit her lip as she got up.

"Adrian…" Adrian held up a hand.

"Malia please." Malia grabbed his hand and put it down.

"You need to stop." Malia walked pass Adrian and Adrian turned around.

"Malia, you need to listen to me." He grabbed Malia's wrist and she turned around.

"No, I don't. I've told you my opinions!"

"Malia, you need to listen to me." Malia pulled away from Adrian.

"What do I need to listen to you about? You don't know anything of this town! You don't live here; you don't know all our problems." Adrian balled his hands into fists as he tried to control his temper. "I thought you were here to not stir up trouble. I miss you Adrian but when you only come around to look down upon my decisions, it hurts. You're my best friend and you pull this on me lately. It's hard and I'm done… I'm done." Malia turned around and leaned against the tree, her arms crossed. She bit her lip again, trying to calm herself down. Adrian slowly loosened his fists and walked slowly towards Malia.

"I'm only looking out for you…" he said softly in her ear, his hands on her arms. Malia sighed.

"I know… But I know what I'm doing," she said, her eyes cast to the ground.

"He doesn't love you…" Malia held her breath and closed her eyes. She hated this, she hated hearing her best friend say and talk about such things, things that he knew that would make her emotional and make her second guess herself. She hated it, but she couldn't hate him, he had been there with her since she was a teenager.

"You're wrong, I know you are wrong," she said, lifting her head up.

"Malia, you must believe me. He doesn't love you; I've seen how he looks at you and then how he looks at other women. He's only going through with it because of your status," explained Adrian. Malia pulled away from Adrian, her eyes glaring at him.

"Status? What status? The status my father denounced once he became the heir of the family? He was horrified at what my family did in the past, and frankly so am I! Killing people, who would be proud of that? Stealing? Who wants that in their family, and who wants to be proud of it? That status is one that I reject as well. My father is looking out for me and wants me to have a better life, this is why he set this whole thing up!" explained Malia, staring Adrian in the eyes.

"Your father is just trying to get out of a debt he owes now, that is the only reason why you are tangled up with such a selfish man!" Malia slapped Adrian across the face.

"Don't you ever say that about my father! He is looking out for me; he wants me to be happy!"

"By having you being looked at by a horrible, selfish pig?"

"I'm going to marry him Adrian." Adrian felt his back go ridged. A few seconds of silence passed over the two and Adrian finally found his voice.

"Marriage?" Malia looked down and nodded.

"Yes… I'm going to marry him." Adrian backed up and felt himself fall upon the swing. He felt the swing go back and forth and he gripped the ropes and looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry," he said. Malia turned toward the sunset and stared at it.

"I know he doesn't love me, and he probably will never love me but deep down inside, I knew he wouldn't. You cannot please that man, no one can please him. I'm going to be a trophy to him, someone to wear upon his arm when we go out and this… this I know and I'm okay with it." Adrian looked up and stared at the back of Malia's head.

"How can you be okay with that?" he asked. Malia smiled to herself.

"Because I love him." Adrian gripped the swing tightly as the phrase sunk into his brain. She loved him, she loved someone who didn't and would never love her and she was okay with that. For once in his life, Adrian was speechless.

Malia turned around and walked towards Adrian. She touched his cheek gently as she knelt to become level with him. She put her forehead against his and closed her eyes. Adrian closed his eyes as he felt his hands come up and cup her cheeks. He felt tears begin to run down Malia's cheeks and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. Malia fell to her knees as she felt her body be pulled into a hug. She felt Adrian's chin upon her head as she began to cry. Her arms wrapped around his waist as she cried.

* * *

Adrian sat up quickly, eyes squinting at the sudden bright light coming to his eyes. Adrian groaned as he rubbed his eyes, the room soon coming into clear focus. Adrian leaned back in his chair, his hands running through his hair. He hadn't had that flashback in such a long time; he had forgotten how much the memory hurt him. Adrian reached into his desk and pulled out a small picture of a girl with black hair and brown eyes. Adrian touched the picture as he sighed.

"Malia…" he said softly. He put the picture away, groaning softly. When he had heard Malia was going to be married to a man that he didn't approve of, it hurt him. Adrian bit the inside of his cheek as he pushed papers off of his desk in frustration. He stood up from his desk and walked over to his experiment. The mouse was running around the cage, jumping off of things, jumping through the air and going at amazing speed, something that normal mice didn't do. Adrian smiled at this and walked back towards his desk. He knelt down and picked up the papers he had knocked over and set them on his desk. He took in a deep breath, slowly letting it out as he leaned against the desk. The ringing of his cell phone brought him back to reality and he fished it out of his pocket.

"Hello?"

"Adrian, its Egeon." Adrian sat in his chair as he turned his full attention to the phone.

"Did you get the girl?" he asked.

"No, not yet. We are drawing the girl and Vincent into a trap right now," Adrian hit the armrest of his chair.

"Vincent isn't going to fall for a trap unless it's a brilliant one; he's too smart for these types of games."

"We know, we know. Just trust us." Adrian bit the inside of his cheek and felt his body relax.

"I will check in later to see if you have succeeded or not." Adrian closed his phone, put it in his pocket and rubbed his head; he really needed a drink.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon and Yuffie held the reigns tightly as she made her chocobo run faster. She hadn't ate or stopped since that morning. She felt the chocobo's muscles tense with every step they took but she couldn't stop, she could see the other woman's chocobo in front of her, two hundred yards away. Her grip tightened as she watched the woman begin to ride up the mountainside that was in front of them. Yuffie bit her lip as she kicked the side of her chocobo. She was going to catch that woman and she was going to get her bag back and no one was going to stop her.

Once she got to the base of the mountain, her chocobo suddenly stopped. Yuffie felt herself heaved forward and then kicked the sides of her chocobo once more. The poor animal huffed and kicked the dirt with its clawed foot. He began to breathe heavily, but wouldn't budge.

"You stupid animal!" she cried, jumping off of him and grabbing his reigns. She began to pull him, but he wouldn't be lead by force. "Damnit!" she shouted as she began to climb up the mountain. There was a semi patch that went up the side of the mountain, but she felt it would be easiest to just climb up the thing than take a path. She grabbed a ledge and began to heave herself upwards but felt an arm wrap around her and yank her down. Yuffie grabbed and pawed at the mountain, her feet kicking with resistance.

"Vinnie, lemmie go!" she cried, wiggling in his tight grip.

"No." he said softly. Yuffie began to pout.

"I need to follow her! I need to get my bag back!" she cried, tossing her body at the mountain. She grabbed a handful of rock but she felt Vincent step back, pulling her out of range. Her fingers dug into Vincent's arm as she tried to claw her way out of his grip.

"She's getting away! I'll lose my bag forever! My mother gave me that bag!" she cried.

"She won't let you lose her," he said, bringing his other arm, his claw arm, and wrapping it around her and letting his human arm free of punishment. Yuffie shivered at the coolness of the metal on her stomach as she settled down.

"What do you mean?" she asked, finally sobering up from her adrenalin.

"She gave us chocobos to follow her, I think she wants us to find her," he explained. Yuffie loosened up and felt her head hit against Vincent's chest as she signed, her eyes closed as she thought. He was right, why would the woman give them those chocobos if she didn't want them to follow? Yuffie's hand found Vincent's claws and tried to pry them off of her.

"I understand," she said. Vincent held his grip on the girl a few more moments, and slowly let his arm drop to his side. Yuffie pulled away from Vincent and walked to her chocobo. She gently petted his beak and turned to Vincent. "So, should we start walking?"

The sun was lower in the sky once the two made it to the top of the mountain. The sight that they saw took their breath away; at least it did for Yuffie. On the other side was a grand waterfall that was in the mountain side. Yuffie knew she could hear the pounding of water, but she never thought she'd find a waterfall. It fell into a beautiful little lake that had a river flowing into it. Vincent took in the scene when he saw a black spec run behind the water of the waterfall and disappeared. Something about this didn't feel right to him, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to talk Yuffie out of it. He turned to her, surprised to see that she hadn't noticed anything. Her eyes were bright with awe at the sight before her.

"I've never seen anything so beautiful…" she said softly.

"I believe the woman is down there," said Vincent, pointing to the waterfall. Yuffie turned her attention to where he was pointing and raised an eyebrow.

"Behind a waterfall?" she asked.

"I watched her chocobo run back there. I think there might be a cave back there." Yuffie's eyes went wide and she hopped on her chocobo.

"Then let's go!" she cried, gripping her reigns tight. Before Vincent could stop her, she was already going down the mountain on the back of her chocobo. Vincent shook his head as he mounted his own chocobo and followed the girl.

Yuffie stopped right outside of the waterfall and looked at it. It amazed her to the fullest, they really didn't have waterfalls in Wutai, and they only had a lot of rocks and mountains. She had traveled this land before, but she never found this place; it was almost completely surrounded by mountains, so it would be a hard spot to get to. She hopped off her chocobo and tied him to the nearest tree; she didn't want him running away from her. She turned around as Vincent approached and he did the same as Yuffie.

"Ready?" she asked before turning around and walking towards the waterfall. Vincent grabbed Yuffie's wrist with his hand and pulled her back.

"There isn't something right about this…" he said.

"It's probably a trap, I know," explained Yuffie. Vincent looked at her with a small question on his face.

"Then why?" was all he asked. Yuffie smiled and turned towards him.

"Sometimes you just gotta seize something you care about, even if it's dangerous," she said, yanking her wrist out of his grip. Vincent found himself standing straight as the girl in front of him smiled brightly and turned away from him. Vincent was intrigued by this girl. As a Turk, you were trained to ignore your sense of fear; if you were fearful you would surely lose. They were taught how to channel it and when they felt fearful, it was their body telling them there was something nearby, so they used it to their advantage, but they never felt fear itself. Yuffie was scared, he saw it, but she was also keeping that fear away. She was determined to get her bag back, a token her mother left her. He watched her back as she disappeared behind the waterfall. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he followed her into an unknown situation, something he wasn't comfortable with.

Familiar, that was all that Vincent felt when he entered this little house hidden behind a waterfall. The smell, feel, air and aura felt familiar and this made him uneasy. His eyes scanned around the room, taking in everything. Where was that woman, she was in here, he knew it and he didn't like it, not one bit. His body stiffened up as he went on full alert, his hand ready to reach for his gun in a split second.

Yuffie walked around the room more freely than Vincent. She was intrigued by this house that was hidden that her guard was slowly coming down. She ran her hand over furniture as she walked around, gathering dust on her finger tips. This place was amazing! She lifted her hand from roaming to notice the dust that had gathered there. When she looked around she noticed that this place hadn't been touched in years. She got an eerie feeling, the same type of feeling she got when she first stumbled upon Vincent. She began to back up and she felt herself bump into a desk and something fell.

At the sound of something falling, Vincent turned around, his gun in the air pointing in the direction of the noise. He lowered his gun when he saw Yuffie holding a picture frame in her hands. He put his gun away and slowly approached Yuffie.

"What did you find?" he asked as he stepped up behind her. There was a glare on the photo, making it hard to see the face. Yuffie moved the picture and Vincent's heart stopped and his body became ridged.

Yuffie moved the picture so Vincent could see it clearly. She felt the man behind her go ridged and heard a soft whisper of _Lucrecia_. Yuffie turned around and looked up at Vincent, his eyes were distant and his body didn't move.

"Vinnie?" she asked softly. When she received no response, she gently held out her hand and touched his arm gently. That seemed to get his attention, and brought him out of whatever he was thinking. Yuffie felt better, knowing that he was back to himself and not staring into space like a zombie. Yuffie looked at the picture in her hand and then looked back up at Vincent.

"Do you know this lady?" she asked. Vincent looked at Yuffie then turned his back to her. His eyes looked all over the room, taking it all in. He knew this place held a feeling of familiarity because it belonged to Lucrecia. He began to walk around, taking in everything. His hand ran over the furniture, in a similar manner as Yuffie had done moments before, as he inspected the room with his eyes. He came to a stop when he saw something shimmering calling out to him. He walked to the spot where he saw the shimmering and knelt down, reaching for the object. It felt cool to the touch and he pulled it out from its hiding spot. It was a gun, a beautifully made gun. He turned it around in his hands, taking it in. On the side of the gun, _Death Penalty _was engraved in it. Vincent just looked at the gun, taking it in. It was for him, it was for him and he knew it. He began to stand up when he heard a thud, crash and a few clicks. He froze.

"Slowly turn around Mr. Valentine." He heard a soft whimper and he sighed. He slowly turned around and saw a familiar sight of a Brunette, the same one he had saw earlier, standing on something behind Yuffie. Yuffie was struggling against the two men who held her in a tight grip. On the ground lay the broken picture frame. He looked up at the brunette and glared at her.

"What do you want?" he asked. Sierra smiled, pushing up her glasses.

"We want you to let us have Yuffie, that's all."

"You bitch!" spat Yuffie, struggling. She felt something cold hit her neck and she stopped. Her heart began to race as one of the men put a gun to her throat. She felt the gun slowly slide up the side of her head until it lay upon her temple. She closed her eyes and began to give a soft whimper. She didn't think she would be taken, not with Vincent around her, yet here she was with a gun to her forehead and Vincent away from her. This had been a trap, and she had leaded them right into it.

"If you say no, then we will blow up this beautiful home and all of us die. If you let us take her, you can stay here in this home and repent until you die. Now do you really want us to blow up Lucrecia's home?" Yuffie's eyes snapped open and looked at Vincent. Her eyes locked onto his and she tried to read his expression, trying to figure out what he was going to do next. How did he tie into all of this? How did they know this man? He had been asleep for a while, she knew, but was it actually such a short time that people knew him? She figured he was just a man no one knew, no one cared about, but she figured she was wrong. She tried to read his expression, but all she could see was a deadpan stare, something that hadn't changed. Sierra pulled out a small little box with a button on it and grinned at Vincent, her finger upon the button.

"What do you say? You stay here, in the place that holds deep memories and you repent and suffer. Or, shall I blow this place up, killing you and this girl; it's your pick Valentine." Yuffie felt tears come to her eyes as she watched Vincent suddenly relax. She felt dread come all over her body. He was abandoning her, abandoning her for memories she didn't understand, things she didn't understand and that hurt her. She wanted to know what was going on with this mysterious man, she wanted to know with all her body, and now it was betraying her like she was a stray and that the brunette was a dog catcher. She felt her body go limp as tears began to stream down her face. She felt betrayed.

Two shots brought Yuffie from her thoughts as she felt her arms become free as her captors fell to the ground. She looked up and saw Vincent holding his gun up, smoke coming from the barrel. He took aim and shot again and hit the small box in Sierra's hand, making it fly from her hand. In a flash, Yuffie felt herself being pulled as she heard a soft click of a button being pushed in. Yuffie and Vincent ran as fast as they could to escape. They made it to the mouth when Vincent wrapped his arms around Yuffie and jumped through the waterfall as an explosion sounded behind them. They hit the water hard, the impact sending all the air out of Yuffie's lungs. A feeling of dread ran through her body, and her grip upon Vincent tightened as she struggled to hold her breath. Vincent felt the shift in her hold and began to swim to the surface as fast as he could. They broke the surface and Yuffie gasped loudly, coughing in the progress.

Once on shore, Yuffie refused to let go of Vincent. Her body was tired, her adrenaline had rushed out of her and she just felt weak. Everything that had happened in the last five minutes finally came to her mind and she felt herself begin to cry. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she grabbed a hold of Vincent's shirt and buried her face in it. The feelings of helplessness, scared and abandonment came to her mind and she couldn't stop herself from crying.

Vincent watched as smoke billowed out from behind the waterfall, rising into the darkening sky. Lucrecia's place was now gone and there were so many questions Vincent wanted answered. He felt trembling against him and looked down to see Yuffie burring herself in his wet shirt. Vincent felt guilty for putting her in that situation, if she was by herself she wouldn't have went through that, she probably would have just been taken captive and found herself a way out of it, but with him, he put her in a new type of danger. How many things will be piled upon him during this trip? How many times will this girl cry because of him? Vincent looked away, but his hand found its way to the top of Yuffie's head and he left it there to try and comfort her, even if it was against his nature. He knew of a place they could go for the night and head west after that.

"Let's go."

* * *

"Sierra! Sierra!" Egeon ran through the waterfall upon the debris that was left from the explosion. Egeon's heart began to race. He knew that Sierra shouldn't have come; he knew that it was wrong of Adrian to let her do such a thing. Egeon began to pull at the rubble, calling out Sierra's name. He heard a faint _Egeon_ and began to pull things away quicker. Finally a hand shot out of the rubble and Egeon grabbed it. He pulled and Sierra resurfaced, coughing in the process. Egeon looked at her with worried eyes as he saw the cuts and bruises from the accident. Blood ran down the side of her face from a cut on her forehead. Egeon began to reach to wipe the blood away then stopped. He couldn't show affection for her, he just couldn't. He couldn't come to terms with the feelings he had inside, if he did he would become weak and have a weakness, something he couldn't have.

"Are you okay?" he asked, pulling Sierra to her feet. She staggered a bit but soon straightened up.

"Yeah... I'm lucky to be alive," she said, coughing more while she grabbed hold of Egeon's arm to steady herself. "Thanks," she said as she pulled a cure materia from her pocket and healed herself.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Egeon, walking away from the debris with Sierra following him. Sierra checked her glasses, sighing at the big crack in both lenses.

"We need to figure out where they are heading and try to cut them off. Obviously she is trying to get back home but we need to try to cut her off." Egeon sighed, rubbing his head.

"She's just a girl, why is this so difficult?"

"She's a lucky bastard..."

* * *

The Gold Saucer was always a place that Yuffie wanted to come but never dared because she knew once she stayed there, she would never want to leave. It was early night when they arrived at the Gold Saucer. Yuffie sat her bags down when they reached the check in desk at the hotel and she looked around. Her things were lighter without her bag that her mother had given her but she tried to put that out of her mind or she would end up crying again. What interested her the most at the moment in time was Vincent Valentine. Stumbling upon facts that he had a past made her curious about her companion, and every bone in her body wanted to find out more about him.

"One room with two beds please," said Vincent to the man behind the counter. Yuffie looked up at Vincent, cocking an eyebrow up. "I'm not leaving you in a room by yourself," was all he said, as he handed over the gil and took the keys.

The room was smaller than she would like, but she couldn't complain. The two beds were separated by a night table with one next to the window. The moon was shining through the window already and Yuffie made her way towards the bed next to the window.

"I call this one," she said, trying to put cheerfulness behind her voice. In truth, her body was worn out, and her spirit had been dampened but she didn't want to show Vincent the truth. She fell onto the bed and let out a sigh of pleasure at the softness of the bed and the smoothness of the sheets. A bed was a wonderful thing, and so was a shower. Yuffie sat up and looked at Vincent as he stood in the doorway, his eyes distant. Yuffie watched the man, curious about what was going through his mind.

Yuffie did not want to know what was going through Vincent's mind, because it was something no one could understand but himself. Inside of him was stirring, his adrenaline and regret was starting to peak. He felt the monster inside of him pawing, just trying to get out. It wasn't one of the strong levels trying to peak out of his body, but it was a monster none the less. On their ride to the Gold Saucer, he felt the monster trying to get out. He knew he wanted to get out in the last fight, but he couldn't release it, not then. The space was too small and there was a great chance of hurting Yuffie in the process. The monster didn't care, it just wanted to be let out and wanted to play. He clenched his claw tightly at the thought of letting the creature get out.

"Who is she?" Vincent snapped his head up and saw Yuffie standing in front of him, a curious look in her eyes.

"What?"

"Who was she, that woman they kept saying back at that house?" Vincent felt his eyes narrow and brushed past Yuffie, not wanting to discuss it.

"No one." Yuffie growled softly and turned around.

"Tell me!" she begged, following Vincent.

"It is none of your concern, I've told you this before that my past is none of your business." Yuffie didn't like that answer.

"I feel like I have earned my right to know a little bit about your past Vinnie! I want to know you!" she cried, grabbing a hold of his arm. Vincent yanked it away, keeping his back to Yuffie.

"You have earned nothing." Yuffie slapped his shoulder hard, wishing it had been his face.

"What do you mean?! If I have earned nothing, why the hell are you helping me, following me?! I want to help, I want to learn about you and help you learn about today!" cried Yuffie, her small body trembling. Vincent glared at Yuffie over his shoulder, but didn't say anything, he couldn't. He himself didn't know why he was following this immature girl, and would love to leave her and find himself a hole to crawl in and repent until he died, but he found himself drawn to this girl and it made him sick. He was just hurting her, pulling her into things that she shouldn't be drawn into. When Yuffie received no answer she turned her back to Vincent.

"I hate you," she said softly, tears coming to her eyes. Vincent's expression softened a bit, but didn't let it show too much. She looked him dead in the eyes and clenched her fists. "I hate you!" she shouted, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Vincent looked out the window, his eyes catching the moon. _Good, _he thought, _hate me, its better if you do._

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to write this chapter, I have been SUPER busy and nothing would come to my mind and then just suddenly I finish this chapter and write half off the next chapter (it's hard to stop when it all takes place at the same place). Sorry for the cliffy, but I figured I should end my chapter here before it gets too long and have you wait. Please review, I know I'm slow, but reading these reviews really helps after a while of no writing, and I thank everyone who has written because reading these the other night really helped me get back into the swing of things. I must also thank because it helps to find good information when it's been a while since you've played the games, and also the FF7 movie helps me try to get Vinnie back in character… Thank you, and please review! **


	6. Letting Go

**Chapter 6**

_I hate him, I hate him, I hate him_ thought Yuffie as she stared at the drink in front of her. It had been at least an hour since she had stormed out of the hotel room and she could care less. She was very tempted to go rent her own room and then leave in the morning to go to Wutai by herself and leave her mysterious companion behind to fend for himself. He was so annoying and she knew he did it on purpose! She took a sip of her drink and sat it down on the table. She just wanted to know him, to see why he was so dark, so moody. Being by his side and fighting with him, she felt she had gained the right to learn about his life, even if just a little bit. He didn't have to tell her a lot, just a little bit about his past and she would be completely happy. She wanted to know that he cared for her, as a person as a friend, that was all she wanted. She wanted to be cared for, was that something you had to ask for?

Yuffie gave a sigh as she sat up in her seat. Drunks surrounded her, all over in the bar. She was never a fan of bars because drunken people made her uncomfortable, and the smell was horrible but it was the only place she knew that Vincent wouldn't look for her, at least she would hope he wouldn't look for her.

_I don't care if he looks for me!_ She thought, but soon that thought went away. Who was she kidding? She was hoping that her vampire friend was looking for her. Her chest felt funny as she thought about that, and she didn't understand why. Why did she get this way when she thought about him? Was it normal or did she catch something on her travels? Yuffie ran her fingers through her hair as she thought. She hated this feeling, hated it with a passion and just wanted to throw it out the window. She hated feeling weak, and this feeling made her feel weak and hopeless. Yuffie stood up, dropping gil upon the table and started to make her way out of the bar.

Yuffie walked down the corridors of the Gold Saucer, glancing everywhere for something to do. She could go play games, ride rides, bet on Chocobos, watch some theatre, there were numerous opportunities to get her mind off of Vincent, but nothing seemed to excite her. She hated herself for coming here in such a state, and hoped that one day she could return to experience the life of the Gold Saucer how it was meant to be, fun!

"Oh, excuse me," said Yuffie as she gently brushed by a stumbling man. Yuffie glanced at him and bowed.

"I'm sorry sir, I wasn't watching where I was going," she said and began to walk away. The man grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her to him. She felt the stares of people around her as the man did so, and saw the looks of concern on their faces.

"Excuse me, can you please let go, you are making a scene," she said softly, pulling away from the man, or trying to. His grip on her arm tightened as he pulled her towards him. "Look, I've had a rough day, so if you could _please_ let go, I won't have to hurt you," she said. When the man didn't comply, Yuffie jabbed her elbow into his stomach, freeing her arm, and punched the man in the nose. The man wobbled back, his eyes cast to the ground. Yuffie rubbed her wrist and looked at the man. "I told you to let go."

_Something isn't right..._ Yuffie watched as the man stood standing, his body hunched over. An eerie feeling ran through Yuffie's body as she watched the man. He didn't make any slight moves and just stood there.

"Mister?" asked Yuffie, walking towards the guy. "Are you okay? I can call the doctor, I bet they have a place like that here, since it's so big and all..." Yuffie babbled on as she stopped next to the guy. The man slowly raised his head and Yuffie let out a high pitch scream.

* * *

Yuffie had been gone for a while, and this didn't make Vincent feel fine at all, on the contrary, it made him feel horrible and guilty. These emotions weren't normal for him, something he hadn't felt for a very long time, so feeling these types of emotions made him uncomfortable. Was he finally becoming in tune with his human side or was it just because Yuffie stressed him out? He wasn't sure what the answer was, all he knew was that he needed to go for a walk to try to clear his mind and he hadn't been to the Gold Saucer in such a long time, it had changed drastically since he had last saw it.

The halls were bright and cheerful, inviting for anyone to come and have a good time. This was a completely different feel than when he had last been here, right when it was just a hotel. He knew that the old hotel had been torn down with promise of a new, fun hotel that would bring in customers. The work upon the hotel had been abandoned after they had hit money troubles and that was the last thing he knew before he had become a monster. It seems like they found the money somewhere and rebuilt the Gold Saucer and it was now a hot spot for travelers.

He saw a group of people up ahead, and found it a bit unusual for a group of people to be at the end of a corridor, but soon heard soft murmurs and then a high pitch scream, one that he was very familiar with, and it was soon followed by many others and the people began to run towards him, fear in their eyes. His eyes narrowed a bit and he dashed towards the group of people, making his way through the scared crowd.

Yuffie jumped away from the man, no he was a monster, as his eyes dilated and he jumped towards her. She bit the inside of her cheek as the creature scratched her, sending blood down her arm. She fell to the ground, cradling her wounded arm as she watched the creature lick his newly grown claws, his eyes changing as they zoned in on her. The noises he was making were disturbing, like he was possessed and all he could think about was eating her. This scared her, especially because she was unarmed and seemed to be going against a monster she had never met before. Yuffie closed her eyes as she heard a gunshot.

Vincent stood there, his gun raised as he watched the bullet hit its target. The monster stumbled back, but his attention didn't waver at all. The monster approached Yuffie again, his eyes big and hungry. His unnatural noises echoed through the air as he launched himself at her. Vincent dashed towards the monster to rip him off of Yuffie. The two tumbled and Vincent landed on his feet, his gun raised at the monster that slowly got to his feet. Vincent glanced at Yuffie and watched as she backed away as quickly as she could, holding her left arm, blood slowly trickling down. Vincent glanced back at the monster, which was now facing Vincent. His eyes were red, and they looked deep within Vincent's.

His body began to shake. Vincent closed his eyes, trying to look away from the monster, but it was already too late. His very own monster, the one inside of him, was finally at its peak, it was going crazy and he couldn't do anything to stop it, not with the sight of Yuffie and the glare and craziness of the monster in front of him, adding to the hype of the entire day, it was just too much. Vincent dropped his gun as he felt his body change, to let out the creature inside of him. His body morphed, ripping his shirt and pants in the process of the transformation. His mind was taken over with the instincts of the monster inside, and the first level of the creature, came to life as it looked down its muzzle at the creature in front of it, the creature it was going to kill.

Yuffie stared in amazement at Vincent. He had changed into some type of creature, something purple, and something she had never seen before. Her heart was beating fast as she watched him attack the monster that had attacked her. She watched as the two fought, claws against claws, fangs against fangs. The snarls, barks, howls, yips were almost too much for her, adding into the ripping sound she heard made her freeze in terror. She wasn't sure what was going on, what was happening or if she was safe. All she knew was that Vincent was something new, something mysterious and it scared her, scared her to pieces.

_Kill, kill, kill_ was all that Vincent could think as he attacked the monster in front of him. It was skillful and fast, but Vincent was quicker. He let out a howl as he attacked the creature again and again. Finally it fell to the ground, its body limp but Vincent wasn't satisfied, he wanted to destroy the body, and he didn't want to see anything left of it. The creature he had become was laughing in his mind, killing and destruction was all it thought of. He jumped on the creature and began to pull at it.

"Vinnie, stop!" cried a person from behind. Vincent felt someone grab his arm and his instincts turned to that object. He pushed the object away from him, his nose picking up the scent of blood. He gave a loud howl.

Yuffie was scared, so scared her body was beginning to shake. He didn't recognize her, he didn't recognize her at all and this upset her. As the purple creature began to advance on her Yuffie whimpered.

"Vinnie, stop! It's me, it's Yuffie!" she cried. The creature advanced upon her, pouncing on her and pinning her down. His eyes stared into hers and Yuffie whimpered more.

"Vinnie, I'm sorry," pleaded Yuffie. She stared Vincent in the eyes and bit her bottom lip.

_Vinnie, I'm sorry._ That voice. Vincent's mind fought back and finally took control over this first level of the monster inside of him. He didn't understand why he had lost all his control to this level of monster, but it had happened and it scared him. Was he slowly losing himself to the monster inside or was there so much built up frustration inside of his body he just wanted to let it all go? He finally was seeing what he was doing and found himself staring into the eyes of Yuffie. This was like his dream, and he knew that this was a sin he would be repenting for a long time to come.

His body began to change, and Yuffie settled down. Claws on both hands transformed into a human hand and a cold metal claw, both gripping her arms. His eyes became his normal red color, they weren't thirsty, just his distant red. His hair fell over his shoulders as he stared down at Yuffie, his eyes locking with her. Yuffie could see the turmoil inside his eyes and watched as he began to wobble. Vincent couldn't keep his body up and his knees gave out and he felt his elbows hit the ground, his head finding Yuffie's shoulder while his breathing was labored, and his forehead sweaty. Yuffie closed her eyes as she listened to him breathe, a soft sort of whimper coming from within the breathing. She opened her eyes and leaned her head towards his ear and softly whispered,

"Let's go back."

* * *

_Dear Malia,_

_I'm sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am about how I acted the other day. I care about you, a lot, and it hurts me to know that you are going to go through a marriage that is not based upon love but based upon gain. I hope you know what you are agreeing to. I hope to see you soon…_

_Your friend,_

_Adrian_

_

* * *

  
_

_Dear Malia,_

_I haven't heard from you, how are you? Are you doing well? It's been months. I haven't had the time to be able to make it out to Wutai to see you… I've… been busy… The lab has kept me on my toes more or less; I don't know how Hojo or Hollander ever did it. Please respond, I want to know how you are._

_Your friend,_

_Adrian_

_

* * *

  
_

_Dear Malia,_

_How could you get married and not send me an invitation? Do you know how hurt I feel? I'm your friend, a close friend of yours and you just push me away? I thought I meant more to you than that? I know we didn't know each other for a long period of time, but we became close, did we not? Malia, I care for you and to know that you didn't even tell me about the wedding, I'm hurt. I would have understood if you didn't want me at the wedding, but I would have wanted to know! I could have sent a gift, made a trip out to Wutai and congratulated you in person, but instead I hear it through the grapevine that you have gotten married? That's the last straw Malia; I can't believe that you would just throw our friendship to the side that like. I'm through Malia, I'm through with you._

_

* * *

  
_

_Dear Malia,_

_I'm sorry._

_Your sincere friend,_

_Adrian_

_

* * *

  
_

Adrian looked up at the ceiling, sweat streaming down his face. He sat up slowly, covers sliding down his body, stopping at his waist. He ran a hand through his hair and pulled the covers away from his body. He swung his legs over the bed and walked towards the window. He put his fingers under the lip of the window and pushed the window up, a cool breeze blowing against his bare chest, sending a soothing chill through his body. He had been dreaming about her again, dreaming about Malia. She had been consuming his dreams and his thoughts for the past week and it was driving him insane. He put his forehead against the window and sighed and a soft wind blew through the open window. He hoped that her memory would be put to rest soon, he prayed to God that he would be able to finally let her go soon and be released from the anguish he felt for her.

* * *

_Wide eyes looked into red ones as tears streamed down their cheeks._

"_Please, please let me go," cried the person, eyes blinking. Vincent stood straight, a medium gate to his stance, and a gun pointed at the female. She shook, cowering in the corner. "Please, please don't kill me… Please… let me go…"_

"_Let me go, Vinnie, please!" Yuffie. Yuffie was on her back, blood streaming from a gash in her cheek and a cut on her forehead. Claws wrap around her neck, choking her, making her gasp. _

"_Vinnie, please… Let me go… Don't kill me… Let… me… go…"_

"_Let me go Vincent." Lucrecia. Vincent looked at a young woman standing in her room, a picture frame in her hand. Vincent looked at her, then at the picture. It was the same one that had been smashed in the fight earlier. Vincent looked at Lucrecia as she sat the picture upon the table. She slowly walked towards him and placed a hand upon his cheek._

"_Let me go," she whispered. Vincent's left hand captured her wrist before it left, forcing her hand to stay where it was. He didn't say anything as he let his eyes close. His eyes opened when he felt cool metal upon his cheek and noticed that his left hand had turned into a claw. He blinked and long hair fell in front of his eyes and he could feel his hair fall over his shoulders. His eyes met with Lucrecia and he became still. There was something about her now that was different, that she was different. He was confused, his body was confused, and everything was confused. He held his breath as she leaned into his ear and whispered._

"_Now." And he let go of her wrist._

Moonlight filtered into the sleeping room, its light engulfing parts of both beds that inhabited the room. Yuffie's ears twitched as she heard a soft whimper, her eyes opened and she listened carefully. It was Vincent, Vincent was having some sort of nightmare and the sound was very unlike Vincent. She slowly sat up, pushing the covers down, and looked to her left. Vincent lay there, his cover thrown off of him and his body sprawled out on the bed. His breathing was labored, and he seemed to be sweating. Yuffie's expression softened as she watched as his hand grabbed the bed sheet and clutched it tightly.

Yuffie pushed the covers down as she swung her legs over the bed. She stood up slowly, pulling down her oversized nightgown of a shirt, and she walked towards Vincent's bed. She watched as his grip on the cover became tighter and she let out her breath. This was the first time she ever caught her friend sleeping, and she had a feeling that what had happened earlier that evening was putting Vincent through some sort of turmoil, something she didn't like thinking about. She crouched down next to his bed and watched him. She wanted to wake him, touch him, tell him it was going to be okay and that she was sorry. They had walked back to the room in silence and once they entered the room he went straight to the shower. Once he was finished, he went straight to his bed while she took one. He was standing in the corner, looking out the window once she finished her shower, and she went straight to bed, too scared to talk about what had happened. Her mind began to think on everything that had happened today and was surprised about how much actually happened and she let out a soft sigh.

Before Yuffie knew it, she felt her body fly through the air, landed in the center of the bed, a hand upon her neck pushing, two legs straddling her legs tightly and cold metal against her temple. Red eyes glared down into hers as she let out a silent gasp. She slowly felt the grip upon her neck loosen and the metal disappear from her temple. The red eyes seemed to go from death threat to an unknown emotion that Yuffie couldn't pinpoint; it was definitely foreign to Vincent.

"Yuffie," Vincent said softly as he sat back on his legs, letting Yuffie sit up. "What were you thinking? I could have killed..."

"You seemed to be having a nightmare and I thought…"

"I only have nightmares," he said as he rested his back upon the headboard of the bed, his eyes cast up. "That is all I'm allowed to have."

"That's silly, all you are allowed to have?" asked Yuffie softly.

"Yes."

They sat in silence for a while, Yuffie's eyes case upon the bed, sheets captured by her hands, and Vincent's eyes were cast at the window. Finally, Yuffie said softly,

"Who is she?" Vincent stayed silent as Yuffie leaned into him. "Who was she? That… Lu… Lu… Lucrecia."

"No one."

"Not this again. Please, Vinnie, tell me who she is, just something! Anything, it doesn't even have to be true, just make it sound true."

"I said no." Yuffie slapped Vincent across the face as she glared at him.

"Damnit Vincent! Just tell me something, anything!" she cried, falling forward with her hands landing upon Vincent's legs, her face looking up at him.

"Knowing my past will do nothing for you," he said calmly, not looking at Yuffie. Yuffie grabbed Vincent's face and forced it to look at her, and then she slammed her hands against the wall on either side of his head.

"I want to know you; I don't care if it will do nothing for me!" In a flash Yuffie's back was against the headboard, Vincent's arms on either side of her head and his legs straddling her legs. He leaned in closely.

"I'm dangerous," he said deeply, a hit of danger in his voice.

"I don't care," spat Yuffie, a bit of a white lie, but she said it confidently none the less.

"You should care,"

"I don't"

"Why don't you ever listen?"

"I'm stubborn, that's why."

"You should stay away from me."

"I can't, can't you…"

"I could kill you Yuffie."

"I know!" Yuffie felt her heart race as she stared at Vincent. He was talking too quickly, so confidently, she didn't know this Vincent; it was like it was normal to him at one point. She felt so small compared to him, especially him leaning in so close and his body blocking her from getting away. She grabbed Vincent's wrists as she said, "I know… I was scared tonight, but I don't care."

"I could have killed you tonight, how can you say _I don't care_ so lightly? How can you say you want to know someone, a _monster_, like me?"

"Because I trust you." Vincent's hands slowly slid down the wall until they reached Yuffie's shoulders, and then he brought them to his side, Yuffie's hands letting go. Vincent didn't know what to say, he had never really heard anyone say something like that so openly, so freely. Trust was something you had to earn, and they had been together for a very short period of time and he couldn't understand how she could trust someone so quickly. Yuffie was different, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to figure her, and this made him uneasy.

Yuffie watched Vincent's emotionless expression, trying to figure out what he was thinking about. Everything on his face was relaxed, but she knew something had to be going on inside of his head; something she said had upset him. Yuffie began to reach for him, to tell him she was sorry, but he got up from the bed and crossed to the window. Yuffie felt her heart sink with the rejection and she felt her body curl into a small ball on the bed. She let out a soft _I'm Sorry._

"She was a scientist," Yuffie held her breath at the statement. "I was… We saw each other frequently and became… friends." Vincent put his hand upon the windowpane as he looked up at the moon.

"She soon became pregnant. Hojo, a scientist, wanted to do an experiment on the unborn child, something I didn't think should happen. We had a confrontation, leading to Hojo shooting me…" Yuffie sat up on the bed as she listened to the story. Vincent took a deep breath, continuing. "When I woke up, I was different. I had things inside of me that were not there before, creatures. I felt… angry, that is the only word that could really describe my emotion was… angry. I found myself in a coffin to atone for my sins, of letting down Lucrecia and letting Hojo get away with what he wants… until you, unfortunately, found me.".

The story was edited, edited to the bare minimum. Vincent stared at the moon as he mind raced. He loved Lucrecia, loved her with all his heart. She was beautiful, smart and passionate. Her eyes always captivated him. He wasn't sure if he fell for her because of her beauty or if it was because he was finally at that age to find someone he could possibly find what he was missing. He had never felt that way about any woman in his entire life. When she fled from him and ended up with Hojo, Vincent felt hurt. How could she run to a man like him? Once she became pregnant, he became even more worried, he was worried something bad was going to happen to the baby. Hojo was a mad man, and letting him work on the unborn baby was unforgivable.

Unfortunately, Vincent failed to protect Lucrecia and ended up a horrible monster, someone who couldn't save the one he cared about. Vincent found his hand balling up as his anger began to build up in his body.

"I'm here to repent for my sins and I should have died in that Mansion when it burned to the ground. I should not be here right now," Vincent felt his body go stiff as he felt arms wrap around his waist, a warm body pressing against his back. The grip tightened even more around him as he felt the body begin to shake.

"I told you, you choose your own path, forget what 'should' have happened, it didn't and you just need to live," Yuffie said, holding back a sob even though tears escaped her eyes. Vincent closed his eyes, the moonlight shining upon his face, as he felt a few wet drops upon his back.

They stood in that same position for what seemed like hours, completely silent. Vincent felt Yuffie's arms slowly loosen and begin to slip and he grabbed her hands and pulled her around. Yuffie was asleep, tears still in her eyes. Vincent picked her up and gently laid her upon her bed, pulling her covers up to her chin. He watched as the tears slowly fall down her cheek and he stood up. He sat upon his bed and put his chin upon his hands as he looked out the window and looked at the moon. His eyes glanced at the sleeping Yuffie and he sighed. He hoped in the future when he needed to, he could let go.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long with this chapter, I got hit with school hard. The ending of this chapter was COMPLETELY different when I originally wrote it after the first chapter. Unfortunately I lost that due to a computer crash this summer. I tried to rewrite the parts that I really liked, but I couldn't remember. After re-evaluating what I wrote then and how the characters have developed, the changes were needed and the original ending was way too OOC (Having Vincent saying he loved Lucrecia straight out to Yuffie, he wouldn't do that). Please review, especially if I got any information wrong with Vincent's past... I'm taking some creative liberties, but I do want the story to stay true. Vinnie and Yuffie won't be in the next chapter much, fyi. Thanks, and please Review! I love to read reviews!**


	7. Reasons Revealed

**Chapter 7**

Yuffie stirred as she felt her body begin to wake up. She groaned softly, not wanting to move from the warmth of the covers. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the wall in front of her. She stretched and rolled over, her eyes falling on the empty bed that was next to hers. She sighed and sat up, pushing the covers to the side. She stretched and stood up, popping her back in the process. She headed to the bathroom, knocked on the door gently, and then went in when there was no sound. Yuffie looked at herself in the mirror and was taken back. Her eyes were red and there were tear stains on her cheeks. She rubbed her eyes and looked closer, confused about how she looked. After a few moments of thinking, everything from the day before came back to her and she felt her body become heavy and had to balance herself on the sink. So many events had happened the day before, and all of them returned to her. She sighed and pushed herself away from the sink and started the shower. She hoped that the shower would wash away a lot of her troubles, but she felt that it would do little good.

Yuffie walked out of the bathroom, a towel in hand as she dried her hair. Vincent sat on his bed, his eyes cast down to the ground. All the bags were packed, the few bags they had, and Yuffie knew it was time to move on. She didn't know when the next time they would sleep in a bed would be and was very sad that she didn't know.

"Where are we off to?" asked Yuffie, tossing the towel onto her bed as she sat down.

"Somewhere near the cost, we need to find transportation to take us to Wutai." said Vincent softly. Yuffie smiled.

"I know just the man."

* * *

Adrian stood outside of a very large building, his hands rubbing together quickly. He was nervous, he was extremely nervous; he wasn't sure what he was going to say, going to do. He hadn't seen Malia since that time outside when she told him who she was going to marry. That seemed ages ago, and technically it was, he hadn't aged one day since that time almost a year earlier. Since that time she married, never telling him when the wedding date was. He had felt hurt, betrayed that she would exclude him from such a wonderful time in her life, or was suppose to be. He felt that she was doing this out of the goodness of herself and her possible family, who would turn down such a man? When you know someone can take care of you for your entire life, would you pass that up? Adrian kept telling himself he would, he would want to be with someone he loved but he knew that wasn't fact that was a storybook ending. In this day you marry to be able to stay afloat, be on top and know that you will never go hungry. He also knew that living here was a lot better than living anywhere else, they could see the sky and that was something that not everyone could see.

Adrian stopped playing with his hands and took a deep breath. He could do this, he was a strong man. He put his foot on the stair and held his breath, afraid that the stair would eat him alive. After a few moments he felt calmer and began his way up the stairs and in front of the door. Once again, it took him a few moments before he could even try to open the door, but he did and exhaled as he walked into the house.

He had been in this place before but the space and the largeness still overwhelmed him. He took in the quiet nature of the room for a moment so he could clear his mind, there were too many thoughts running through it at that moment. He didn't have much time before his thoughts were interrupted with a loud noise and a soft yelp.

"I'm sorry, I told you already that I'm sorry!" cried a female voice making Adrian's heart stop. Malia showed herself at the top of the stairs followed by a man he knew too well to be her husband.

"Don't walk away from me when I am speaking to you," his voice bellowed, making Adrian's skin crawl.

"I said I don't want to talk about it anymore and that I'm sorry I spoke my mind!" cried Malia, tears streaming down her face. The man grabbed her arm before she could descend down the stairs.

"This is a serious matter Malia," he said.

"Let go of me, you're hurting me!" she cried, yanking her arm out from his grip. At that moment Malia lost her balance and Adrian watched as Malia fell forward and began to roll down the stairs. Adrian saw the look of horror in the husbands face and Adrian could feel the same look upon his face. Once Malia reached the bottom, Adrian was right next to her, scooping her up and cradling her against his body.

"Malia… Malia!" he cried, shaking her gently. He found Malia being torn from his arms and was swept off by two big men.

"Please check to make sure my son is fine!"cried the husband and Adrian felt his heart drop. Malia was pregnant with that horrible man's child.

"Your son? Your son? Make sure your son is fine but not your wife?" asked Adrian, trying to control his temper. The man looked at his, glaring.

"Yes, my son. If you have a problem with that statement I would ask you to leave," he said, holding back a soft chuckle. Adrian wasn't sure what the man found funny about that and ended up balling his fists together to try from crying out with anger. "I know who you are and I am not sure why you are even here. I would have thought that without that invitation to the wedding you would back down by now, but clearly you haven't gotten the message yet." And with that he snapped his fingers and two men appeared and bowed before the man and looked at Adrian. Adrian kept his fists clenched as he watched the two men come towards him and grab him by his upper arm. He resisted at first but then let the two men drag him out of the house. Adrian glared at the husband, who smugly stared back and held up a shiny round ball in his hand. Adrian growled as the two men threw him out onto the ground. Adrian dug his hands into his pockets and grumbled. Other than taking Malia away from him the bastard had also stolen his materia.

* * *

_Dear Adrian,_

_I am sorry. I am sorry for everything that has happened, for everything that you have been through since we met, I didn't want this to turn out the way it did. I wanted our friendship to last longer than it has. I know you cannot understand what I am going through right now, but it is okay. I know you cannot understand the situation I have been in all my life. Once I was born, I was destined to be married to my now husband and nothing would change that. I grew up my entire life being told that I would marry this man and I believed that if I were to marry him that I would have to love him. I didn't believe that I would actually fall in love with this man, but I did. I know you think he is horrible, a monster, but I love him. There is something about him that draws me to him. Maybe it is the fact that I was destined to marry him since I was born and I am tricking myself into actually thinking that I love him but that's okay. I want my brain to trick me if that means that I live happy and feel loved even if he doesn't show it in the traditional way. _

_Again, I am sorry and I hope that you accept my forgiveness. I miss you being around me as a friend, as someone who I can tell what is on my mind and not be afraid that it will hurt me later. Please come back and see me, I want you to see my child. I find my daughter to be charming and I would love if you would be a godfather to her, my husband disagreed, but it can be a secret. It would make me very happy for you to be her godfather even if my husband disagrees. _

_Please come back, I miss you._

_Love,_

_Malia_

* * *

Adrian stood at the gates leading into the city, his hand in a fist. He was nervous, he didn't like sneaking around and he felt like he was sneaking around. Her husband didn't approve of this but Malia didn't care and this is what made Adrian feel a little afraid. Malia was a person who would always make sure that what was going on would be approved of so she wouldn't get in trouble, so with her wanting him to come out and meet her and her child so he could be the Godfather of the little one, made him a little weary. He wasn't sure if this was a set up to get at him or if it was truly her wanting him there. He let out a sigh and slowly made his way to their meeting place.

The sun was beginning to set and he found Malia sitting on a swing, the same swing that they had their argument years ago, a place where he truly felt the love for her and where she turned him down. She sat there, a small basket on her lap, a small serene smile upon her lips as she spoke unheard words to the unseen object in the basket. She looked beautiful and happy and Adrian felt his heart ache. He wished for years that he would be the reason she was happy, the reason she could laugh every day, not a man who didn't love her.

Adrian found himself almost to Malia before she looked up. Malia smiled brightly, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him. Adrian found himself smiling, even when he found her in his arms, squeezing him tightly. He let out a sigh, resting his head upon her head.

"Malia," he said softly, talking into her hair. He heard a soft giggle and pulled back. Malia smiled up at him.

"Adrian, I was afraid you wouldn't come!" she said, pulling out of his grasp. Adrian smiled a little.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, I would love to be the Godfather of your daughter," he said, hiding his pain as he said the words. Malia smiled and walked quickly to the basket she had left behind. She picked up a child and walked toward him, holding the child close. The little girl had a small patch of black hair upon her head, her eyes open and alert. Adrian looked at the little girl and held out his hand towards her. The little girl noticed and grabbed a hold of one of his fingers and pulled on it, making soft baby noises as she did.

"What's her name?" he asked softly, memorized by the small child.

"Yuffie. Yuffie Kisaragi."

* * *

_4 Years Later_

Adrian looked at himself in the mirror at the inn he was staying at for the last few days, making sure his hair was just right. It was Yuffie's fourth birthday and Malia had invited him to her party. Four years was an important year in Malia's family so the party was more of a celebration than a small gathering of close relatives and friends, the whole town was celebrating the birthday of the small princess and Adrian wanted to make sure he looked his best. He had arrived a few days earlier to help set things up for the party. Malia had to talk and plead with her husband to let her invite him and he finally gave in and said yes. Malia had contacted him the moment she could and he was on his way the next day to make his travel to Wutai.

Adrian found himself nervous as he checked himself in the mirror. This would be the first he would come face to face with Godo Kisaragi, Malia's husband. He knew Godo's name well, he was one of the last rulers to stand up against Shinra even with talk of Shinra's future plans on trying to take over the country. Adrian wasn't much for gossip about Shinra, he rather stay out of it but he would listen if it would help him in his situation, which this would not. What was done is done and he cannot go back in time to make Malia not marry Godo.

Adrian sighed softly as he finished buttoning up his shirt. He hoped that Godo would stay away from him. Adrian backed away from the mirror and walked out of the bathroom and made his way to the bed. He grabbed the small wrapped gift and smiled a little at the blue and pink wrapping paper. He hoped his God Daughter would like his gift, he thought it was a nice gift for a four year old.

* * *

"Adrian!" Malia called, waving her free arm while in her other arm Yuffie clung to her shyly. Yuffie's big eyes looked around, not sure about all the people around just yet. Adrian smiled; remembering how he was at that age in big groups and that all you want at that moment is your mother. Adrian made his way over to Malia, a smile on his face.

"Malia!" he called. Yuffie saw Adrian and smiled a little, waving her hand in a greeting. It had been a little while since she had last seen him, but she recognized him as her Godfather and Adrian swelled up with pride. Even though she wasn't his own child, he loved her like one though he couldn't love her more than he did her mother.

"Sorry I am late, I had a hard time wrapping my gift," Adrian said as he stood next to Malia. Yuffie grinned, eyeing the wrapping paper of the gift in his hand. Malia smiled.

"You know you didn't have to bring a gift, being here is enough," she said, shifting Yuffie in her arms to a more comfortable position.

"Well, I feel like I needed to give this to her. It was one of the first presents I remember." Adrian handed the gift to Yuffie who snatched it quickly and tore into the paper. Her eyes went wide as she saw the soft shine of green and she dropped the paper and held the green orb in her hands.

"A cure materia?" questioned Malia. Yuffie smiled as she rolled the materia around in her hands.

"Thank you!" squeaked Yuffie. "Down please mommy!" Malia smiled and sat Yuffie on the ground. Yuffie held the materia in her hands and ran off.

"Thank you for the gift," said Malia, putting her hands behind her back. Adrian smiled.

"It's nothing… I figured she'd need it soon enough, so why not give her a cure materia that has some leveling on it." Malia smiled, nodding.

"Turning four means that she will start her ninja training tomorrow. She'll need that cure materia more than you know," explained Malia. Adrian looked at her.

"So that is why the age of four is so important in your family." Malia nodded.

"I was trained when I was four too… Everyone in my family is trained. Girls are given an option after the age of ten on if they want to continue training. They also are trained in the traditional areas of womanhood as well, so they aren't out shown by the other young ladies in the town. I had to show Godo the ways of my family for he didn't want her to start her training as a ninja. He sees ninjas as men, and most families do but not mine. I stopped training at the age of ten, seeing that it wasn't a path that I wanted to follow. I have a feeling though that Yuffie will train pass the age of ten," explained Malia, a smile on her face. Adrian couldn't help but smile, learning so many things about Malia made him feel happy, made him feel like he could still be a part of her life, even if it wasn't in the way he had hoped.

A soft rumble filled the sky and Malia looked up, Adrian following her gaze. The sky had filled with dark clouds and another rumble filled the air and the wind began to pick up. Malia wrapped her arms around her and looked around.

"Where is Yuffie?" she asked, looking around. "She doesn't like being outside when it's about to rain… Yuffie?!" Malia walked away, shouting her daughter's name. Adrian followed suit and before long, a chorus of _Yuffie!_ filled the air. Rain began to fall and Malia began to panic.

"Where is she?!" she said, grabbing a hold of Adrian's arm. Adrian shrugged and Malia let go, an idea coming to her head. "I know where she is, Yuffie!" and Malia dashed through the crowd as thunder sounded and lightning flashed across the sky. Adrian's hair stood up on his arm and he had a bad feeling.

The rain began to pour, thunder and lightning becoming more and more prominent. Adrian found himself waiting under the shelter of one of the businesses. Malia hadn't returned yet and neither had Yuffie.

"Go out there and find her now!" shouted a powerful voice and several voices said _yes_ and several men dashed into different directions into the storm. Adrian looked at the owner of the powerful voice and felt his heart sink and he caught the eyes of Godo. Godo's eyes held no emotion and Adrian felt anger well up inside of him.

"Don't you feel emotion?" questioned Adrian, his eyes glaring at Godo.

"That is something you do not need to know," said Godo, his eyes glaring into Adrian's.

"Both your wife and child are missing, how can you look like you don't care?" Godo turned from Adrian and Adrian gave a growl. He ran up to Godo and grabbed his sleeve. "Answer me! I'm tired of you always evading questions!" Adrian felt himself ripped from Godo and found himself face first in the mud. Adrian tried to push himself up but he was pushed right back down.

"Sir!" cried a voice and Adrian felt the pressure on his back disappear and pushed himself up. A slumped figure was in the arms of one of the men sent out to find Malia and Adrian felt his heart stop.

"Malia…" he said softly, pushing himself to his feet and stumbled forward.

"Where did you find her?" asked Godo as the man laid Malia upon a wet table, her head rolling to one side.

"She was going to her and Yuffie's favorite spot but must have slipped trying to climb her way up. Her head hit a rock… She's barely breathing and she has lost a lot a blood from her head…" explained the man. Adrian felt his heart stop as he listened and couldn't take his eyes off of Malia.

"Mooom!!!!!" cried a high pitched voice and Yuffie pushed her way through the crowd and crawled up next to her mother. "Mom! You didn't find me!" she squeaked, shaking Malia. "Mom… Mom? Why isn't she responding?"

"Yuffie, where have you been?" asked Godo.

"I was playing with the cats and then I heard thunder and got scared. On my way back I kept hearing people call my name so I thought we were playing hide and seek so I hid… We play this game all the time," babbled Yuffie, shaking Malia in the process. Adrian stared at Yuffie as his breath became labored.

"You thought what?" he said. Yuffie looked at Adrian and nodded.

"We always play hide and seek… You hide when someone calls you, everyone knows that!" Adrian felt something inside of him change and he found his hands in fists.

"Your mother went out to look for you! She was scared you were out there, scared and lost! And you thought we were playing a game?!" he exclaimed.

"It is my birthday… Why wouldn't we play a game?" asked Yuffie, her eyes confused.

"Your mother might die and you thought we were playing a game?!" Yuffie grasped onto her mother, scared. Adrian felt two men grab his arms and he stood his ground.

"Don't you dare speak to my daughter like that," said Godo, his voice smooth. Adrian spat at Godo.

"You don't care, you never cared, ever!" cried Adrian, struggling under the men's hold.

"Escort him out of the gates, please… You are banished from this town. If you step one foot back here, you will be killed," Adrian felt himself being pulled away and tried to struggle to get out of their hold. He caught a glimpse of Yuffie, crying into her mother's chest. Malia was motionless, blood staining her face. Adrian's chest hurt as he looked at her and closed his eyes, praying that wouldn't be the last time he would see her.

* * *

Adrian opened his eyes and found himself staring at his lap. He groaned, rubbing his sore neck and stretched. His eyes adjusted to the light of the room and he found himself in a dim room. The room lights were off but the lamp on his desk was on. He must have been doing some paperwork, the room light hurting his head when he had to look at papers all day long. He looked at his desk and found the incomplete paperwork on his desk and he groaned softly. He had fallen asleep again. Adrian rubbed his head and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. That had been last time he had seen Malia and Yuffie. Yuffie had written several letters to him, trying to reconnect with him but he never responded he just couldn't. He couldn't forgive the one person he held responsible for her death. He wished it had been Godo's fault, but it wasn't and that hurt him worse… Yuffie was his God Daughter but he couldn't see her like that anymore, she was the one who took his love away for good. This was the reason he wanted her, he wanted to see her suffer… He knew what he was doing was right and knew that they needed to find her soon, he was getting antsy.

* * *

Yuffie held onto Vincent's waist tightly, her hair plastered to her face. She shivered as the rain poured down upon the two riding on the back of a slow Chocobo. Yuffie wanted to spend a little extra money on the Chocobo that reminded herself of her but Vincent wanted to go with the cheaper one that Yuffie swore would die before they reached their destination. She was wrong, of course, about the dying part but she was right about the slow part, they should be there by now.

"Are we close?" called Vincent, having to raise his voice because of the rain and the thunder. Yuffie pealed herself away from Vincent's back and looked around his body. She squinted as the rain hit her eyes, not able to see anything.

"I can't tell," she said, wiggling to try to find a better way to see. Yuffie squeaked when she saw the light she was looking for and screamed when she felt herself slip off the back of the Chocobo. Yuffie hit the ground hard, mud pushing into every inch of her body. She groaned softly, looking ahead of her and noticing she missed hitting her head on a rock by a few inches. She pushed herself up and thanked God that the Chocobo was slow and dying instead of the one she wanted to get, she might be seriously hurt by now.

"Yuffie, are you okay?" came a deep voice above her and Yuffie looked up and barely saw the red eyes of Vincent.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said. She felt herself being pulled up and found a cape wrapped around her. She stopped breathing for a second as she watched a glimpse of gold making sure the cape was wrapped tightly around her.

"Good. How much further?" he asked. Yuffie squinted and looked around Vincent.

"Almost there!" she exclaimed, pointing around Vincent.

Yuffie stood on the door step of a house that she hadn't seen for a while. She knocked on the door and held Vincent's cape close to her. The door swung open and Yuffie smiled. A blonde man stood there, an astonished look upon his face.

"Shera!" exclaimed the man, backing up a bit.

"Hi Cid, long time no see!"

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long, a lot of stuff happened at once and I was stuck on this chapter for a while… It still didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to, but at least I finished it. I was trying not to give away anything until the last possible second about who Malia was and why she was important. I kinda let it slip during the last chapter and put Wutai in one of the messages and I didn't catch it until I was reading over it to get me back into my groove. This chapter needed to happen… I should have one more chapter devoted to back story that will lead to a turn in the story and that should be the next chapter… Sorry this story is taking so long but I'm determined to finish it! I'm bad about not finishing stories…


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